Psittacus aureus, Auctorum. Synonyms: Conurus aureus, Gr., Bp., etc.; Conurus canicularis, Brmst.;

Conurus brasiliensis, Fnsch.; Psittacus regulus, Shw.;

Psittaca brasiliensis, Brss.; Sittace aurea,WGL.; Aratinga aurea, Spx. ;

Aratinga pertinax, Br., etc., etc.

German: Der Halbmond-Sittich.

THIS charming bird is a native of Southern America, and is smaller than the Carolina, which it otherwise resembles, measuring about ten or eleven inches in extreme length.

Dressed in a mantle of vivid green, its forehead is ornamented by a crescentic patch of a deep orange colour, like the crescent on Diana's virgin brow, behind which the feathers assume a greenish blue shade on the top and back of the head, the cheeks and the neck are greenish gold, and the breast and abdomen a dull greenish yellow.

The female can scarcely be distinguished from her mate; but the smaller size and fainter colour of the crescentic or half-moon patch that gives the bird one of its English names, as well as its German designation, is thought to indicate the female; but we must admit that the difference is very slightly marked, and the sexes can only be surely recognised by the actions and demeanour of the birds.

We have no doubt that the Parrakeet described by Bechstein under the name of Psittacus canicularis belonged to the species under consideration, although the old German writer called the deep orange yellow of the half-moon markings red, and the greenish blue shade of the top of the head sky-blue, for in other respects the descriptions of Russ and Bechstein agree.

"It is handsome, but does not speak", says the latter author, "and although a native of South America, is not very delicate or difficult to preserve."

GOLDEN - CROWNED CONURE.

This adaptability of South American species, not only of Parrots, and other birds, but of mammals, and plants and trees, to almost every variety of conditions in which they happen to be placed, is a curious fact to which we have already adverted, though why this should be so is a question not very easily or satisfactorily answered: thus the Passion flower is so far acclimatised that it grows freely out of doors in this country, where it blossoms in profusion, and even matures its golden yellow fruit: and the Green and Bed-crested Grey Cardinals brave the cold of our most severe winters with impunity; while many flowers and birds of Southern Europe would perish at the slightest degree of frost, although the mean temperature of their native land is not, by many degrees, as high as that of Brazil and Demerara.

The Half-moon Parrakeets are natives of South America, where they are common and widely diffused: the nest is made in a hollow branch, where the female lays two or three white eggs. In the house they become very familiar, and are very gentle and desirable birds: Dr. Buss relates that a male in his bird-room was so tame that it would fly on to his shoulder, and perch on his finger.

In their native country they do considerable damage to the rice crops, and in captivity are to be fed on canary seed, millet and oats, adding rice in the husk when obtainable: in fact the latter is almost a necessity when the birds first arrive in this country, unless they have been accustomed to our English seeds on their voyage from their native land.

There is no record of their having as yet bred in Europe, at least that we are aware of; but should any of our readers chance either to have successfully bred them, or to know of any one who has done so, we shall take it as a favour if they will kindly communicate the particulars to us through our Publishers, as it adds much to the interest possessed by a species for amateurs if the same has been successfully reproduced in captivity.

The Half -moon, or Golden-crowned Conure is often confounded with the Sun Parrakeet (Psittacus solstitialis, Lin.), which is a very different bird, although a native of the same country as the Half-moon: the ground colour of the Sun Parrakeet is bright citron yellow; the face, back, breast, and belly are a yellowish brownish red, the wings green with yellow, black and blue markings, the beak is black, and the eyes reddish yellow, so that the birds can be readily distinguished one from the other; though the latter has occasionally been sold as the female of the former, we do not insinuate with any intention to defraud his customer on the part of the dealer, but simply because the latter knew no better.

It is self-evident that dealers and amateurs must look upon birds from a very different point of view: the former regard them as so much merchandise merely, in most cases, and know little or nothing of their habits beyond what is current in the "trade", viewing them from a commercial aspect chiefly, and have little acquaintance with and care less about their habits and requirements than is necessary to maintain them in life, and if possible in health while in their possession - afterwards? Ma foi, apres moi le deluge, as a Frenchman would say; and we have known of instances in which wrong directions as to treatment were given to customers, so as to ensure the death of the birds, "for the good of trade", within a short time of their purchase by an inexperienced amateur.

However reprehensible such tactics may appear, and undoubtedly are, there is no doubt that they are very frequently had recourse to in the trade; and in fact, in the earlier days of our bird-keeping, we have ourselves been deceived in the manner we have described. In experience lies the safety of the connoisseur against such paltry deception, and he must expect to pay for it, in this connection, as well as in every other. There are respectable and conscientious dealers, it is true, who would scorn to deceive the unwary, and to men of established reputation, with a good character to maintain, we would counsel our readers to repair when about to purchase birds, but there are others who might be much more correctly described as the reverse of honest and fair-dealing.

But even the most upright of dealers is not, necessarily, an authority upon bird-matters, generally the very reverse; he has a certain knowledge of his business, it is true, but then his business is to get rid of his goods as quickly as he can at the least risk of loss to himself; and the highest profit he can command; but of birds we never met with a dealer that had any scientific knowledge whatever: the Latin names he might know by rote in some instances, and repeat glibly enough, more or less correctly; but there his knowledge ended, and when he assumed no more, no harm was done: but when such an individual pretends to know all about everything concerning birds, he can be made the subject of much quiet amusement to the naturalist who interviews him.

We remember once going into the shop of a well-known dealer to inquire for some Saffron Finches, of which we were then in need for the purpose of trying some experiments in the way of mule breeding, and asking him if he had any in stock. Yes, he had a few; what did we want them for? We had heard, we said, that they would breed with Canaries. Certainly, replied the dealer, button-holeing us, after his custom, and looking up confidently into our face, don't you know that is where the Lizards come from? Cinnamons, you mean, we replied, somewhat maliciously we must confess. Of course, replied the dealer, Cinnamons I meant; thus revealing his utter ignorance of the subject: for, of course, if mules were obtainable, which we doubt, between birds of such widely divergent habits as the Saffron Finch and the Canary, although they closely resemble each other in appearance, they would be sterile, as every hybrid is: so we had a quiet laugh at our scientific and omniscient friend the dealer, whom we have again and again conducted into similar pitfalls, to his momentary discomfiture ; but so overweening is the vanity, and so consummate the self-complacency of the man, that he promptly recovers himself and begins again, as amusingly as ever, to air the knowledge he does not possess, with a pompous assumption of exclusive information that is really "as good as a play."

Well, we have wandered an immense distance from our Half-moons, and must hark back again; observing, in conclusion, that when they are fairly acclimatised they are very hardy and desirable birds, which we can confidently recommend to the notice of amateurs in search of an ornamental and agreeable addition to their collections. They are exceedingly gentle and amiable, and may be caged with the tiniest Astrilds and all the lesser Parrakeets and Love-birds, without fear of danger accruing to the small fry from the really formidable-looking beaks of the Half-moon Parrakeets, which they are very expert in exercising upon anything of a vegetable nature that may chance to come in their way, so that they cannot be kept in any enclosure where it is desired to grow shrubs and trees.