Page:Natural History, Birds.djvu/212

Rh form, the grace and elegance of their motions, the beauty of their colours, their great docility, and imitative powers, and their fond attachment to those by whom they were domesticated and treated with kindness. Amid the luxury of Rome, the "Indian Bird" was kept in cages of the most costly materials, nor was any price, however great, deemed extravagant, or beyond its value.

The naturalists and the poets are eloquent on the varied attractions of these charming birds, descanting with admiration on the brilliant emerald plumage, the rosy collar of the neck, and the deep ruby-red hue of the beak. The species with the whole head of a changeable blossom-colour, we may reasonably infer, were unknown to them, for we cannot imagine they would have been silent on so conspicuous a feature of loveliness. Modern research has made us familiar with some eleven or twelve species, which are as generally favourites with us as with their early classical admirers. They are spread over the Indian continent and Archipelago, from the foot of the Himalaya mountains to the northern coasts of Australia.

The Alexandrine Parroquet has the general plumage of a beautiful green hue; the collar which adorns the neck is bright red, and a spot of dark purplish red marks the shoulders; the throat and a band between the eyes are black; the beak is of a rich ruby tint. The large island of Ceylon, the Taprobane of the ancients, is the principal resort of this beautiful species at this day; and it was from this island that it was first sent to the Macedonian conqueror whose name it bears. In captivity it is an affectionate and engaging bird, courting the notice and caresses of those whom it