Birds and Birding's Guide to:

Watching THE CUCKOO-LIKE BIRDS

THE PARROTS

Parrotlets, American Love Birds

Very much smaller than these, indeed the smallest of this group, are the pretty little Parrotlets, or American Love Birds (Psittacula), only one of which exceeds five inches in length and this one by but half an inch.

They have relatively rather short tails, a different plumage in the two sexes, and curiously enough no furcula. Mainly green and blue in coloration, they may be divided into three groups, according to the color of the rump in the males, this being in the first a more or less deep ultramarine-blue, in the second a turquoise-blue, and in the third an emerald-green.

Of the fourteen species which range from western Mexico to Brazil and Bolivia, the Tres Marias Love Bird (P. insularis), or Catarina, as it is called by the Mexicans, is confined to the Tres Marias Islands, where Mr. Nelson says it is usually seen in flocks, from a few pairs up to thirty or forty individuals.

In May when he observed them they were feeding on a small, sweet fig which was common on the lower slopes.”When feeding they keep up a constant chattering, which notifies one of their presence. When flying over the top of the forest they keep in compact flocks and move steadily forward with rapid wing-beats, suggesting a flock of Cedar Birds. They are very gentle, affectionate little creatures and quickly become attached to their owners."

 

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