We only thoroughly identified this beautiful little bird, by an inspection of the costly work of Le Vaillant on this family, in the Banksian Library: for the description of the orange-winged Parakeet of Dr. Latham is not applicable; and Dr. Shaw has persisted in the old error of considering this species a variety of the Toui Parakeet, although the question had been put at rest by the original description and sound reasons of Le Vaillant. There is a wide difference between naturalists who compile, and form their theories from books, and those who study nature, and think for themselves; and nothing will result from the first but mischief to the science, and perplexity to the student.
PSITTACUS Cayennensis.
Cayenne gold-winged Parakeet.
Generic Character.
- Rostrum breve, crassum, validissimum, ad basin cute tectum; mandibulâ superiore aduncâ; inferiore sub-recurvatâ, breviore. Nares rotundæ, nudæ, fermè verticales. Pedes scansorii.
- Bill short, thick, very strong, covered at the base by a cere; upper mandible sharply hooked; under mandible obtuse, curving upwards, and much shorter. Nostrils round, naked, nearly vertical. Feet scansorial.
Specific Character.
- P. viridis, alis spuriis aurantiis, remigibus exterioribus basi cæruleis, caudâ brevi cuneatâ.
- Green Parakeet, with the spurious wings golden-orange: outer quills blue at their base. Tail short, wedged.
- Le Perruche à tache souci. Le Vaill. pl. 58, 59. p. 169.
Our figure is from a specimen brought from Demerara by C. Edmonston, Esq.; another is in the possession of A. MacLeay, Esq. Though rare in our cabinets, M. Le Vaillant says it is common in Cayenne. He has given a beautiful figure of the female, which is entirely green.
Total length six inches. Plumage above entirely green, beneath paler and inclining to yellow; just under the lower mandible is a small snuff-coloured spot, and a very narrow line of the same in front just above the nostrils; the quills dark-green, the greater ones on their outside base are blue, with which the head is also tinged. The spurious wings are entirely of a rich and clear orange. Inner wing-covers green. Quills inside greenish-blue, except on each side the shafts, where there is a line of black. Tail short, cuneated, hardly projecting an inch beyond the wings, both above and below green: the interior margin dirty-yellow, the feathers pointed. Bill and legs flesh-colour.