EUPHEMA SPLENDIDA, Gould.
Splendid Grass Parrakeet.
Euphema splendida, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VIII. p. 147.
It is a source of much regret to me, that I am unable to give more than a very slight notice of the beautiful bird that forms the subject of the present Plate. The single specimen from which my description was taken came into my possession in 1840, unfortunately without any other information accompanying it than that it was a native of Swan River; from that period no other example occurred until 1845, when several fine specimens were transmitted to me by the late Mr. Johnson Drummond, who had killed them near Moore’s River in Western Australia, and from whom I should doubtless have received some particulars respecting the habits of this lovely species, had he not been treacherously murdered by a native in his company, while engaged in seeking for materials for this and my other works on the Fauna of Australia.
The Splendid Grass Parrakeet is in every respect a true Euphema, and has many characters in common with the E. pulchella, but differs from that species in the entire absence of the chestnut mark on the shoulders, in the more intense blue of the face, and in the gorgeously rich scarlet colouring of the chest; and is rendered remarkably conspicuous by the brilliant display of the three primitive colours—blue, red and yellow—on its face, breast and abdomen.
The male has the face and ear-coverts deep indigo-blue, becoming paler on the latter; all the upper surface grass-green; upper wing-coverts beautiful lazuline blue; under wing-coverts deep indigo-blue; primaries and secondaries black; the first three or four primaries slightly margined with green; two centre tail-feathers dark green; the remaining tail-feathers black on the internal webs, green on the external webs and largely tipped with bright yellow, which increases in extent as the feathers recede from the centre; chest rich deep scarlet; under surface yellow, passing into green on the sides of the chest and flanks.
The female differs in having the face and wing-coverts, both above and beneath, of a pale lazuline blue, and in the chest being green instead of scarlet.
The Plate represents two males and a female on a branch of Beaufortia decussata, one of the plants of Western Australia.