Читать книгу The Natural History of Cage Birds - Bechstein Johann Matthäus - Страница 35

Psittacus Amboinensis, Linnæus; Le Lory Perruche tricolor, Buffon; Der Amboinische Sittich-Lory, Bechstein

This species somewhat resembles the Ceram lory, a variety of Le Lori Noir of Buffon (Psittacus garrulus auroræ, Linnæus); owing to this resemblance the French also call it l’lurore. Its length is sixteen inches, of which the tail, which is round, measures half. The beak is nine lines in length; there is no naked membrane, and the nostrils are in front; the iris is of a golden hue. The head, the nape of the neck, and all the lower part of the body, are the colour of vermilion. A ring of sky blue, very indistinct, surrounds the neck; all the feathers on the top of the body are of a beautiful green, with a fine edge of blue, or some dark colour.

In the female, the head is green; the throat, the under part of the neck, and the breast, are the same, but having a reddish tint. The small tail-coverts are dark green, edged with red; the tail itself is tinged with green. The beak is horn brown, with a reddish tint above and below.

Observations. – A pair of this beautiful species were sold to his Highness the Duke of Meiningen as coming from Botany Bay, but they are really natives of Amboina. Timid and wild, this bird has a sharp whistle and a cry like “gaick,” but cannot speak. The feathers are so loose that they generally come off in the hand when touched; but they grow again very quickly. It is kept and treated like the others.