Psittacus leucotis, Russ. Synonyms: Conurus leucotis, Gr.; Aratinga ninus, Spx.;

Sittace leucotis, Wgl.; Psittacara leucotis, Vgrs.; Microsittace et Pyrrhura lucotis, Bp.

German: Der Weissbackige Sittich.

THIS small Conure is probably one of the prettiest members of the sub-family to which, it belongs; it is about the size of the Tur-quoisine, and of equally slim proportions; the greater part of the body is covered with dark green feathers, the face and head are deep brick red, and the cheeks are marked by a white patch; the top of the head is dark brown, and a band of bluish grey encircles the neck, the rump, vent and tail are dark reddish brown.

There is little or no difference between the sexes, and these can only be determined with any degree of certainty by watching a number of the birds together, and securing a pair that seem, by their continual and reciprocal caresses, to have entered into the "holy bonds" of matrimony.

Writing of this bird Mr. Wiener remarks: "This small Conure is only a little larger than the Australian Undulated Parrakeet, and was very rare until a year or two ago, but latterly the birds are frequently offered for sale. I believe no other Conure will afford his owner so much pleasure as this one. A pair I kept for a long time proved very intelligent, lively, and hardy, and were quite free from the destructive mania of other Conures, and never indulged in screaming."

They can scream, however, and that right shrilly, too; but they are not often guilty of such unbecoming conduct; as Mr. Wiener says, they are hardy, witness the length of time several individuals of this species have survived in the Parrot House at the "Zoo."

The native country of this species is Brazil, where, in small flocks of from ten to twenty in number, they make themselves exceedingly objectionable to the cultivators of the soil, by their depredations among the crops of maize, of which they destroy far more, in apparent wantonness, than they can or do consume. The agriculturists, in revenge for the loss and damage inflicted by them, kill and eat as many of these pretty creatures as they can; and although the old birds are most decidedly tough, the young ones of the year, fattened on the purloined maize, are tender and most excellent gibier: it seems a pity, however, to put such charming birds to such a use, for there are plenty of ugly ones to take their place on the Brazilian farmers' tables; and, it seems to us, at the price quoted, at present at all events, £2, and even upwards a piece, it would pay the farmers better to export the White-eared Conures to Europe alive, than to kill and eat them at home; but possibly these excellent individuals are ignorant of the commercial value of their little enemies, or doubtless they would treat them in a different manner, for to eat one of them, at the figure they now command in the bird-market, seems something like eating gold, and the Brazilians, unless vastly changed, have a keen eye to "the main chance", as we remember to have heard from some friends who had had extensive dealings with them.

WHITE - EARED CONURE.

Mr. Wiener fed his White-eared Conures on " millet, canary, and a little hemp seed, with about a quarter of a sponge-cake daily", which is so excellent and suitable a regimen for them, that we are not surprised to hear him say that upon it his pair "grew daily prettier."

These birds are very pretty and gentle, and soon become very tame; a young male, much petted and attended to, will learn to repeat a few words, and become a delightful companion; they are, however, rather shy with strangers, and should not be unnecessarily alarmed; if they are they will bite, and that sharply, but their doing so is solely the effect of fear.