Dear Roger,
The poem is spot on about the plumage, they are a surprisingly colourful and
pretty bird up close, though far more subtle than an outlandish lorikeet.
Look at the overwing coverts on some googled images and you'll see what the
text presumably refers to, they have an almost iridescent purple 'shoulder' in
the right light. Also a very neat bird in the hand, barring you ending up
resembling a pin cushion by the end of the day!
Cheers
Paul
> On 30 Dec 2013, at 19:38, "Roger Giller" <> wrote:
>
> I have recently read, for the first time since acquiring an interest in
> birds, the poem "Bell Birds" by Henry Kendall.
>
>
>
> I was struck by description in the last two lines:-
>
>
>
> "And straightway the hues of their feathers unfolden
>
> The green and the purple, the blue and the golden."
>
>
>
> It sounds as if he is describing a Rainbow Lorikeet rather than a Bell
> Miner.
>
>
>
> Roger.
>
>
>
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