Psittacus undulatus, Shw.

Zebra Grass Parrakeet, Zebra Parrakeet, Singing Parrakeet, Shell or Scallop Parrot, Grass Parrakeet (Ger., Wellenstreifiger Sittich, Wellenpapagei, Wellensittich, Kanariensittich, Mus-chelsittich, Undulatus, fruher Pepitapapagei, falschlich auch Andulatus, Angulatus oder gar Andalusier, Dr. Finsch benannte ihn Wellenstreifiger Singsittidi; Fr., Perruche ondule'e; Dut., Grasparkiet) - Distinguishing Marks of the Genus - Description of the Spiecies - Habitat - Breeding -Capacity for Speech.

The Undulated Parrakeet (Melopsittacus, Gld.) - literally the Singing Parrakeet - may be easily distinguished from all other talking parrots, for the only one of this genus is much smaller than any other, being about the size of a sparrow. Their special distinguishing marks are as follows : Beak rounded, with thin, long point to the upper mandible, which is bent outwards and provided with two fine indentations; the nostrils are small and round, set in broad puffed-up cere; the lores and eye cere feathered; the wings long and pointed; the tail long, wedge-shaped, the two central feathers projecting far beyond the rest; the feet slender and weak; the tongue short, fleshy, blunt pointed; the plumage soft. As there is only one species, I shall give all other details in speaking of it.

The points of contact between men and animals in general, and between men and speaking birds in particular, upon which I touched in the Introduction to this book, offer abundant matter of surprise for the amateur, and, indeed, for every intelligent person. But scarcely any illustration of this kind could have made so great an impression on all who witnessed it as the speaking Undulated Grass Parrakeet in the Ornis Exhibition in Berlin, in 1880.

Stories of canary birds gifted with speech had long been made public, but were generally received with incredulity, though they came from an unquestionably trustworthy source. There, however, stood the Undulated Grass Parrakeet, certainly not more highly gifted by nature, bodily before the eyes of the unbelieving, and thousands of visitors to the exhibition could convince themselves that they were not the victims of deception.

It is well known that the Undulated Grass Parrakeet has only appeared in our market in modern times. It was first described and scientifically named by Shaw in 1789-1813; in 1831 it was mentioned as a rarity in the museum of the Linnean Society, in London. Gould gave the first description of its life in freedom, and this renowned naturalist brought the first living pair of Grass Parrakeets to Europe in 1840. In this short space of time - the last four decades - this, the smallest of all parrots imported alive, has become so common among us that it is to be found everywhere, whether in palace or in cottage, and is as completely at home as our yellow friend, the canary. Many thousands are imported annually, besides which it is bred from time to time in great numbers.

It is a prettily coloured bird, of a yellowish-green on the upper part of the body, the plumage appearing in undulating lines, with blue spots on the cheeks, chin, and throat. It is about the size of a sparrow, but slimmer and prettier, with pointed wings and long graduated tail, and its comically dignified mien gives it a charming appearance, as it runs about in a lively manner, nodding its head and chattering so sweetly, as, on this account, to have received the name of "Singing Parrakeet."

It is marked as follows: The full-grown male - the forehead and crown of the head pure straw-colour; a narrow band of sulphur-yellow on the forehead; broad lores and marks on the lower part of the cheek of the same colour; in the centre of the cheek there are some rather long blue feathers, which form blue spots; a long broad beard of yellow, and mixed in it also blue spots, but these are of a darker shade; the back of the head (beginning about the middle) the sides of the head, the back part and nape of the neck, the shoulders, and the greatest part of the wing coverts are of a bright greenish-yellow, marked regularly with transverse undulations (each feather has four fine black transverse lines, those on the shoulders and wing coverts only two, but the latter are broader, and form half-circles); the hinder part of the back, the rump, and upper tail coverts, grass-green, the latter with more of a bluish-green shade; the primaries and their coverts a dull green, the outer webs having a narrow yellow edge, the inner webs blackish, and in the centre broad yellowish spots (which below are lighter, narrow towards the front, becoming broad towards the back, and forming a transverse band right across the wing); the secondaries are green on the outer web, finely edged with yellow, yellow at the base and in the centre (so that the outspread wing shows on the upper side a yellowish-green, and, on the reverse side, a yellowish-white transverse band); all the quills are a dark ashen-grey on the reverse side; the last quill feathers and their coverts, as well as the longest of the capillars, are brownish-black, with yellow tips; the two central and longest tail feathers dark-blue; the rest are more of a greenish-blue, with a broad yellow central spot across both webs, and a broad black edge at the base of the inner webs (the tail has, on the outer and inner webs, two broad blackish-green bands running crosswise, and a similar acute-angled band of sulphur-yellow); all the under parts of the body, from the base of the beak, a yellowish grass-green; the beak greenish horn-grey; the cere dark-blue, more or less glazed; the eyes pearly white, sometimes pale yellow, with large black iris; broad bluish circle round the eye; the feet bluish horn-coloured, those bred at home white; claws blackish. The female is similarly marked, only the blue spots on the cheeks and beard are a little smaller; but the chief mark of distinction is that the cere is greenish, yellowish, or brownish-grey. The plumage of the young bird is similar to the above on the forehead, crown of the head, and sides of the breast, but marked with pale dark transverse lines, the whole colouring paler, the green and yellow duller; the beak, at the time of leaving the nest, black (growing, after the second week, gradually a lighter green-grey); the cere flesh-coloured or bluish-white. Length, 8 1/4in. to 10 1/4in.; width of outspread wings, 10 1/4in.; wings, 3 1/2in. to 3 3/4in.; central tail feathers, 3 1/8in. to 3 7/8in.; outermost tail feathers, 1 1/4in.