Psittacus pullarius, Russ. Synonyms: Agapornis pullaria, Bp., Hrtl.; Psittacus guineensis, Mll.;

WEST AFRICAN LOVE - BIRD.

Psittaculus guineensis, Psittacula guineensis, etc., etc.

German: Der Unzertrennliche.

French: La Perruche a tete rouge.

THE "Love-birds" form another important and self-separating group of the Psittacidoe, and are found in the old and new world; the species under consideration is perhaps the best known of any, and has been in the hands of dealers and amateurs from time immemorial.

It is a little larger than a Bullfinch, and of equally stout build: the prevailing colour of the plumage is green, darker on the upper than on the under surface of the body: a ring of red, deeper on the head than on the throat, surrounds the beak, and varies in extent and intensity of hue according to the age of the bird: the tail is about an inch and a half in length, the first part of each feather for about half its length is red, then comes a black spot, and the extremity is yellowish green: the upper tail coverts are so long as to reach the end of the tail, so that this appendage, unless when the bird is flying, seems to be altogether of the same colour as the rest of the body: the beak is long and rather stout for the size of the bird, and is of a yellowish red colour, the eye is full and black, and the legs and feet grey.

The female resembles the male, but the under surface of his wings is black, while in her the colour is dark green; otherwise the sexes are alike in size and general appearance.

There is a prevalent opinion abroad that these birds are so affectionately attached to each other, that if one dies, the other is certain not long to survive it: hence the rather inappropriate name of "Love-bird", for, alas, for the romantic notion! the inseparable will live very well in single blessedness, and trouble himself, or herself, not one whit about the "dear departed."

"They are so much attached to each other that they must always be had in pairs, and if one dies, the other rarely survives it." The fact being, that the fever, or consumption, contracted on the voyage, that shortens the days of one, has usually been communicated to the other - et hinc illoe lachrymoe.

"Some people think", continues the ancient Bechstein, as the Germans affectionately term the father of bird-lore in their country, no less than in our own, "that a mirror hung in the cage, in which the survivor may imagine that it still sees its lost companion, will console it. The male remains affectionately near the female, feeds her, and gives her the most tender caresses; she, in her turn, shows the greatest uneasiness if she be separated from him for an instant."

Just so: the fact being that half the time the supposed 'pairs' are two males, or two females, as the case may be, when, especially if the former, they will feed and caress each other with as much assiduity, and apparent fondness, as if they were really a married couple.

"The name of Unzertrennliche, or 'Inseparables'" writes Dr. Bass, "is not correct, for a single individual will live for a number of years."

No, the romantic notion of their conjugal devotion must be given up, nor is the fable of their affectionate disposition any longer tenable: we have found them capable of fighting fiercely, not only with other birds, but among themselves, as a correspondent also testifies.

"Apropos of Love-birds", writes this gentleman, "I can only remark that I have a Red-faced one to which it would puzzle you to apply the epithet 'amiable', for a more surly, ill-tempered little glutton never existed. She quarrels with her husband, whom she drives about, compels to feed her with partly digested food from his craw, and then thrashes if he does not sit close enough to her, or if he dares to move before she is ready. In fact a more hen-pecked wretch never lived, and yet he seems to like it, and to be specially proud of his beautiful but utterly unamiable wife."

Some of these birds, nevertheless, are quiet and amiable enough, but their general character appears to be the reverse of good-natured: in a large aviary, where they have abundance of space to disport themselves, and more occupation, they are seen to the best advantage.

Notwithstanding some insinuations to the contrary, it is certain these birds have not as yet been bred in Europe: but in justice to a person, who professes to have bred them, we must say that there is a kindred species, called the Rosy or Peach-faced Love-bird, to which we shall refer in a subsequent chapter, that breeds freely in captivity, and it is possible, we may say probable, that the person in question confounded it with the species under consideration: we will go a step further and assume that this is so, for we are unwilling to believe any one would deliberately sit down and pen that which had no foundation save in his own imagination, and then pawn it off upon the public as an account of his own experience: no, we have a better opinion, not only of the individual alluded to, but of human nature in general, than to believe that one who professes to be a teacher of others, would permit himself to practice so petty and mean a fraud upon the public.

A mistake is pardonable, for we are, none of us, infallible, but a deliberate attempt to deceive, when nothing can be gained by the deception, and exposure is almost sure to follow, is not to be condoned; and there are few persons to be found, as we believe, so foolish as to run the risk of incurring the obloquy that would be certain to attach to such a course.

The West African Love-bird is not one of our favourites; we have occasionally kept them, but have always found them dull and uninteresting, not only in a cage, but even in a good-sized aviary; where they soon became so shy as to hide themselves in the darkest corner they could find, so that, as they were never to be seen, we thought we might as well save ourselves the expense of keeping them, and passed them on to the first person we found willing to receive them.

Although they will endure for a certain number of years in captivity once they are thoroughly acclimatised, so many die during the process, that it is safe to say not more than two or three per hundred of those that are imported into this country survive, and their importation occurs in such numbers that, were their habitat not an extensive one, and their prolificacy great in their own country, the race would soon run the risk of becoming extinct.

Six or seven years seems to be about the average period of their duration in captivity; some specimens, however, are known to have survived for a much longer period, but on the whole we imagine we are not far wrong when we believe them to be a short-lived race: how long they live in their native woods, it is, of course, impossible to guess, but very likely their term of existence is even shorter there, as happens with almost every kind of bird.

The Common Sparrow, for instance, lives five or six years in a wild state, and has been known to exist for twenty in a cage: the same can be said of Ravens, Hawks, Pigeons, and almost every known species of bird; and the explanation is not far to seek: in the wild state, especially in this country, birds are exposed to many hardships, and have to contend against a multitude of foes, while in captivity they are, as a rule, well fed and cared for, and are moreover exempt from the fatiguing labours of reproduction, which tend materially to shorten life. Thus a Canary that is kept in solitary confinement to sing in a drawing-room for bis master's or mistress's pleasure, will not unfre-quently live for fifteen or twenty years; while another that is kept for breeding purposes, rarely lives more than seven or eight years: and if an old bird, say of six or seven years, is paired for the first time, one season generally kills him, or at farthest two, even if he is an especially strong bird.

Bed-faced Love-birds then cannot be supposed to be an exception to the rule, and if we find them surviving for eight or ten years in the house, we may safely conclude that half that time would have seen their end in their native woods; so that it becomes a question whether "a short life and a merry one" in freedom is not preferable to a prolonged existence in captivity: we should incline to the belief that it is, but possibly the little prisoners take an opposite view of the case: at least we will hope that they do so.