Psittcacus ornatus, L.

Ornamental Iory (Ger., Blauohriger Keilschwanzlori, Schmuck-lori; Fr., Perruche Lori orne'e; Dut, Blauwoor Loeri) - Its Extraordinary Beauty - Description - Habitat - Rarity in the Bird Market - Character in Captivity - Talking Capacity.

Few fanciers could be unaffected at the sight of this beautiful little bird. I thought, when I first saw it, that it was the most beautiful of all the brilliant and splendid lories. Mr. Scheuba expresses himself in similar terms, and the old authors seem to be of the same opinion, for they called this bird "The Paradise Parrakeet." I gave it the popular name of Ornamented Lory, by which it is universally known, in accordance with the Latin appellation.

It is among those parrots which have been long known. Edwards sketched it as early as 1747, Brisson described it in 1760, and Linne named it. However, we had no particulars of its life in freedom, nor of its habits in captivity, till lately.

It is violet-blue on the forehead and top of the head; the back of the head inclines to blackish-blue; round the back of the head and across the nape of the neck there is a scarlet band marked faintly as with scales of black; the lores and a spot near the ear are blackish-blue; on each side of the throat there is a broad bright-yellow stripe; all the upper part of the body is a dark grass-green; every feather on the fore part of the back has a broad yellow transverse stripe; the quills are green on the outer web; the inner web is of blackish-grey, dark grey on the reverse side; the shoulders and under coverts of the wings are a deep yellow; the centre feathers of the tail green, the outer ones are greenish-yellow at the tip, and at the basal half the inner webs are scarlet; the cheeks and throat are scarlet; the front of the neck and the breast the same, marked with broad black stripes; the belly dark green; the sides, hinder part of the body, and under coverts of the tail, marked as with green and yellow scales; the beak red; the cere blackish; eyes dark brown, inclining to reddish-brown; the featherless skin round them bluish-black; feet dark grey; claws black. In size it is scarcely as large as a thrush (length, 8 5/8in. to 9 7/8in.; wings, 4 1/2in. to 4 7/8in.; tail, 2 5/8in. to 3in.).

It is a native of Celebes and the Togian Islands. Dr. A. B. Meyer found it there in abundance, and sometimes in very large flocks, which flew away with rapid strokes of the wing, uttering short shrill cries. The natives keep them in numbers, chained to a little stand before the doors of their huts by means of a ring made of cocoanut-shell, and feed them with rice and bananas. The above-named explorer informs us that this bird (like several other lories) has a perceptible and not unpleasant smell of musk.

With us it is, unfortunately, among the rarest in the bird market; moreover, the dealers have had troublesome experiences of it, for most Ornamented Lories die suddenly in spite of their arrival in apparently perfect health and in good plumage. This, however, I am convinced, arises solely from improper treatment, and I therefore call attention to the remarks on this point at page 8 of my Introduction. If these lories arrive in a healthy state, they are just as easily kept as the Blue Mountain Lory, for they only require the same care and diet, and resemble it in nearly every other respect.

They have, however, already found friends who take an interest in them. Mr. Heer, of Striegau, writes as follows : "My male Ornamented Lory is a nice bird, very tame, and reminds one very much, in its actions, of the Blue Mountain Lory. It also appears to be very teachable, for it has picked up all sorts of words from other birds, which it imitates; it chatters most, and many things, in the evening." Mr. A. Eberle writes of a couple, belonging to the bird dealer, Franz Petzold, of Prague, that the male spoke Italian, which it had probably learnt from the sailors on the voyage. "Among my bristle-tongued parrots," says Mr. Scheuba, "the Ornamented Lories are not only by far the most splendid in colour, but also the liveliest, most impetuous, and restless; there is not the least trace of timidity or shyness in them, even with strangers. When anyone approaches their cage, the}- at once come near to the wires and greet the visitor with somewhat shrill cries, and, if the old cock can, it catches a firm hold, with claws and beak, of any garment which has come too close, or else of the hand, and from which his grasp can only with difficulty be disengaged, and not even then, however, without his giving a few painful pecks. If neglected, it attracts attention by loud cries; then, if anyone draws near, it expresses its joy by nodding its head and bowing, and, frequently while doing this, it catches the end of the pinion with its foot, so that the wing is somewhat raised, and puts its head between the wing and the breast. In the same way it tries to chatter all sorts of things, but nothing but the words 'Parrot' and 'Wait, wait!' can be clearly distinguished. Its food consists of oats and boiled maize (of which latter it is passionately fond), as well as service berries and figs; it gnaws eagerly the tops and needles of pine twigs." In other respects this species resembles those previously mentioned; it is also of value as an ornamental bird, and can certainly be bred as well. It seems easier to train in speaking, yet its capabilities scarcely extend beyond a few words.

As already mentioned, the Ornamented Lory is very rare in the trade. A specimen was first brought to the Zoological Gardens of London in 1873, and in Dr. Platen's collection there were twenty-eight specimens; but usually it is only imported in couples or in small numbers.