Psittacus palliceps, Russ. Synonyms: Platycercus palliceps, Vgrs., Jrdn., Gld., etc.

Platycercus coelestis, Gr.; Conurus palliceps, Cv.

German: Der blasshopfige Buntsittich.

THE Mealy Rosella is not, in our opinion, a pretty bird, its pale-coloured head and face give it a decidedly sickly appearance; it is about the same size as the last species, and coloured after much the same fashion, the head and neck of the Rosella being red, and the same parts in its Mealy relation yellow; the cheeks of the latter are white, which tend to increase its really ghastly mien; the upper part of the body is black, each feather being edged with yellow; the under surface is blue; and the lower tail coverts red.

The female resembles the male exactly as to colour, but is, perhaps, a trifle smaller.

The Mealy Rosella replaces in the northern parts of Australia the more vividly coloured bird of the southern portions of the country, so that Dr. Russ is incorrect when he states "Heimat ein grosser Thiel Australians"

It is not as robust as its more vividly coloured congener, and will not stand the severity of our winters out of doors; it is not very common in the dealers' shops, nor, we believe, very much sought after by amateurs. We cannot encourage our readers to buy it, for the following reasons: it is expensive, rather delicate, at least at first, quarrelsome with its fellows, and, as we have said, presents a sickly, faded, washed-out appearance, that in our eyes is the reverse of attractive.

If any one should decide upon giving it a trial, well and good, feed it on seeds, as the Common Rosella, but give more insect food, such as mealworms, gentles, and black beetles, as well as egg-bread, ants'eggs, and hemp seed; upon this diet, when once acclimatised, it will do very well, and, in all probability, reproduce its species in captivity, which, indeed, it is stated, auctore Dr. Buss, to have done last year in Germany.

Pale-Headed or Mealy Rosella.

It is a strange fact that of two closely allied species, the less brilliantly coloured should be an inhabitant of the warmer region; when, as a rule, the birds of tropical, or sub-tropical latitudes are so much more gorgeously apparelled than their congeners of more temperate climes; for the Mealy Rosella is not, as a glance at the illustrations will show, nearly as brightly coloured as the Rose-hills, which is found in Tasmania as well as in the southern parts of the mainland, and it would be curious to ascertain why this reversal of the usual order should have taken place in the present instance; but the problem is insoluble, unless we suppose that the great heat of Northern Australia blanched the bright colours of the Rosella, and produced the pallid bird which forms the subject of the present notice, which is not a very probable hypothesis: can any one help us to another?

We are inclined to think that the ordinary Rosella, the Pale-headed and the Splendid variety (Platycercus splendidus), which must not be confounded with the Splendid Grass Parrakeet (Euphema splendida), are not readily distinct species, but rather geographical variations of the same; the first inhabiting the southern, the second the northern, and the third the central portions of Australia; a supposition that might very readily be put to the test by cross-pairing the several birds, and noting whether their offspring were fruitful or otherwise: these experiments, however, are outside the province of most ordinary connoisseurs, and should be undertaken by the Zoological or Acclimatisation Societies, who have the solving of so many interesting ornithological problems in their power, if they would only undertake the task.

The Pale-headed Rosella in captivity is dull and uninteresting when kept by itself in a cage, and is not quite safe to be trusted with Parrakeets smaller than itself in an aviary, so that on the whole it will, perhaps, be as well for the aviarist not to meddle with it at all: nevertheless, as the very difficulty of procuring and keeping a bird is, in itself, a recommendation to some people, we doubt not that purchasers will be found for it, even at the price of £2 10s. now asked for a pair by the London dealers.