Psittacula contains the green Love-Birds of Central and Tropical South America; they are sometimes tinged with yellow, and have blue on the rump and wings in the male.
Myiopsittacus monachus, the Monk or Loro, of Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina, is green, with grey throat, breast, and head, except the occiput; a blue tinge shewing on the wings, and yellow on the lateral rectrices. It is very common and tame near Buenos Aires, being devoted to favourite spots, and playing havoc with garden fruit, which it pecks and leaves hanging, while at times companies feed on thistle-seeds or devastate grain-fields. Its flight is swift but unsteady, with rapid strokes of the wing and folded tail; yet it mobs Birds of prey, while its noisy chatter disturbs the other woodland species. A nest of thorny twigs, used for shelter throughout the year, is usually woven round the end of some branch, and has a vestibule and an inner chamber, which are repaired before the thin-shelled eggs, from six to eight in number, are laid. Though the entrance, with its overhanging eaves, is in the side or beneath, Opossums and Ducks occasionally take possession. A tree may contain several of these dwellings, which often jointly form a mass sufficient to fill a cart, though not communicating with one another.[[223]] Cyanolyseus patagonus, of Argentina and Patagonia, is brownish-olive, with red on the belly, yellow on the rump and flanks, blue on the primaries, green on the secondaries, and a whitish gorget. The flight is strong though wavering; the cry loud, short, but pleasing; the food consists of shoots, buds, and seeds; the breeding places are holes in banks. Conurus carolinensis, of Florida, Arkansas, and the Indian Territory, is green, with paler lower parts, yellow head and upper neck, orange forehead and cheeks. It frequents wooded creeks or swamps, feeding on cypress-seeds, beech-mast, and so forth, and breeding in company in holes in trees without any nest. Nearly thirty species of the genus range from Mexico and the West Indies to Bolivia and Argentina, C. guarouba of North-East Brazil being yellow with green remiges, C. solstitialis of Guiana and Brazil mainly reddish-yellow with blue and green wings and tail.
Of the fifteen or more large members of Ara, A. chloroptera, the Red-and-blue Macaw, A. macao, which differs in its yellow and green wing-coverts, and A. militaris, the Red-and-green Macaw, occur from Mexico and Central America to Bolivia; A. ararauna, the Blue-and-yellow Macaw, and A. severa, the Green-and-blue Macaw only extend from Panama southwards. The naked flesh-coloured face is crossed by lines of feathers, except in A. macao. The four closely allied Brazilian species of Anodorhynchus and Cyanopsittacus, or Hyacinthine Macaws, are almost uniform blue. The flight of these gorgeous birds is powerful, their note harsh and screaming, while they crush and eat hard nuts of various kinds.
Nasiterna pygmaea, one of some nine Pigmy Parrots, is green, with dusky markings on the upper surface, yellowish crown, reddish forehead and middle of the lower parts; the two median rectrices are blue, the rest chiefly black, with yellow spots on the outer. The female lacks the red and yellow tints. Small flocks of these birds frequent high trees, creeping about them with the aid of their wings and tails, like Tree-creepers, and at midday dozing in fancied security on the lower branches. They feed upon seeds, and are stated by von Rosenberg to lay two eggs, no larger than those of the Long-tailed Tit, in holes in trees.[[224]]
Fig. 75.–Leadbeater's Cockatoo. Cacatua leadbeateri. × ¼.
Sub-fam. 3. Cacatuinae.–Of the Cockatoos, which are restricted to the Australian Region, the Philippine and the Sulu Islands, Cacatua galerita of Australia and Tasmania, one of the forms with narrow recurved crest-feathers, is white, with the erectile tuft and ear-coverts yellow, the plumage being lax and powdery. C. leadbeateri has a red crest banded with yellow and tipped with white, and a rosy tinge on the head and lower surface. Other species exhibit broad straight white, yellow, or red crests, C. roseicapilla being decidedly pink below and grey above. In this group the bare orbits may be blue, red, grey, or white. These tame and active birds love open wooded country, and often form immense flocks; they fly strongly, hop well, utter loud shrill screams, doze in the heat, feed on roots grubbed up from the ground, seeds and grain, and play havoc with crops of maize and the like. Two or three somewhat pointed eggs are deposited in holes in trees or crevices of rocks. The half-dozen crested members of Calyptorhynchus, which are brown or black with a greenish gloss, and a whitish, red, or yellow band across the lateral rectrices, have a more laboured flight and a comparatively low whining cry; they feed on seeds of Banksia and Casuarina and on caterpillars. Callocephalon galeatum is grey, with a scarlet head and crest. In these two Australian genera the supposed females exhibit yellow markings. Microglossus aterrimus, the Great Black Cockatoo of North Australia and Papuasia, is greyish-black with a long narrow crest, and naked red and yellow cheeks. It is a retiring bird, found in pairs among high trees in thick forests; the flight is comparatively weak, the note a plaintive whistle; the food consists of seeds of Pandanus, Canarium, palm-shoots, and the like; the egg is laid on a bed of twigs in a hollow tree. Calopsittacus novae hollandiae, the crested Australian Cockatoo-Parakeet, is dark grey, with yellow forehead and cheeks, orange ear-coverts, and white wing-patch. The female has yellow marks on the tail and under parts. By no means shy, the flocks feed chiefly on the ground, while individuals fly well and love perching on dead branches.
Fam. IV. Trichoglossidae.–Sub-fam. 1. Cyclopsittacinae.–This includes Neopsittacus and Cyclopsittacus of Timor, North-East Australia and Papuasia, which are coloured red, green, blue, and yellow; the peculiarities of structure have already been mentioned.
Sub-Fam. 2. Loriinae.–Trichoglossus novae hollandiae, Swainson's Lory, is blue, with green head and central abdomen; the remaining under parts being red, the sides, nuchal collar and inner webs of the lateral rectrices yellow. Flocks haunt the Eucalyptus-forests of Eastern Australia and Tasmania, uttering incessant screams, flying swiftly and directly from tree to tree, settling again with a dash, creeping and clinging around the branches, and extracting honey from the flowers with their brush-tipped tongues, besides eating seeds. From two to four eggs are deposited in holes in trees. The various species of Trichoglossus range from Celebes and Timor to Australia and the New Hebrides. Ptilosclera versicolor, of North and West Australia, is green, with yellowish streaks on the body, bluish cheeks and nape, red crown, lores and breast. Coriphilus taitianus of the Society Islands is dark blue, with the lower surface chiefly white; C. ultramarinus of the Marquesas shews a combination of light and dark blue. Lorius extends from the Moluccas to the Solomon Archipelago; L. lory of Papuasia being red, with black crown, blue nape, upper back, central breast and abdomen, and tip of the tail; while the wings and middle portion of the rectrices are green. In habits these three genera seem to resemble Trichoglossus. The members of Eos (Red Lory) are red, relieved by blue, except E. fuscata, which is dusky, with red and yellow markings; they extend from the Sanghir and Tenimber Islands and the Moluccas to the Caroline and Solomon groups. Chalcopsittacus of Papuasia has purplish-black, olive, or green species, usually varied with red.
Sub-fam. 3. Nestorinae.–This contains only the genus Nestor, with five species, of which N. norfolcensis of Norfolk Island, and N. productus of Phillip Island are extinct, while N. esslingi is hardly valid. N. meridionalis, the New Zealand Kaka Parrot, is olive-brown, with reddish cheeks and collar, crimson rump, abdomen and under wing-coverts, brown tail and breast, and grey crown. Several races have been described, varying in the amount of red. The Kaka is fearless, social, sprightly, and noisy, though semi-nocturnal and apt to retire to the deep forest during daylight. It utters harsh rasping and chuckling notes, or musical whistles; while it climbs trees with the aid of its beak and feet, and searches the dead wood for insects. It flies in lofty circles, or at times hops about the ground; the food consists largely of juicy fruits, blossoms, and nectar from the Rata (Metrosideros robusta) or the New Zealand flax (Phormium tenax). In semi-captivity this bird is a good mimic and talker, but terribly destructive to furniture, clothing, and orchard produce; the Maories keep it as a lure, encircling the metatarsus with a bone ring fastened by a cord to the perch. Four oval eggs are laid in hollow trees, in crevices of rocks, or under stumps and roots, occasionally on fragments of bark. Nestor notabilis, the Kea of the south island of New Zealand, has olive-green plumage with blackish margins; the wings and tail are varied with blue and yellow, the latter having a brown subterminal band; the rump and under wing-coverts are scarlet. The female is duller. It frequents rugged slopes of high snowy mountains, descending to the lowlands in winter; the small companies soar aloft, fly from peak to peak, or search for insect-food among the stunted vegetation. Tame, inquisitive, and destructive, the natural habits and food resemble those of the Kaka, allowing for the difference of haunts; but this bird will scream or mew, and lays larger and rougher eggs in crevices of rocks. As is well known, the Kea has of recent years become carnivorous, chasing sheep and devouring their flesh. Perching near the tail and clinging to the wool, it digs a deep hole with its powerful beak, and apparently aims at the kidney-fat, the mandible cutting while the hooked maxilla ensures a firm grip. The propensity is said to have originated from the bird pecking at sheep-skins hanging outside country stations. As it sometimes necessitates the abandonment of sheep-runs, or even attacks horses, a price has been set upon its head.