THE CAROLINA PARROT. 147 



ma'am?' this she invariably does to strangers. One 

 day I went into the room where she was, and said, to 

 try her, < Poll, where is Payne gone?' and, to my 

 astonishment, and almost dismay, she said, ' Down 

 stairs/ I cannot at this moment recollect anything 

 more that I can vouch for myself, and I do not choose 

 to trust to what I am told ; but, from what I have 

 myself seen and heard, she has almost made me a 

 believer in transmigration." 



The only member of this large family found in the 

 United States is the Carolina Parrot, or Parrakeet ; 

 which, although not so brilliantly attired as some of 

 the species, is nevertheless a very beautiful bird, 

 the predominating color of the plumage being a 

 light gre'en, tinged with purple on the wings. The 

 head and upper part of the neck are rich yellow, 

 with a patch of orange-red upon the forehead. Many 

 years ago, before the Southern and Western States 

 became thickly settled, this Parrot was very abun- 

 dant in those parts, but we believe that it is now 

 seldom found much to the eastward of the Mississippi 

 river. It is represented as an active, sprightly bird, 

 and very graceful in its motions upon the wing. In 

 the Autumn, when the Cockle Bur (a very noxious 

 weed) has ripened its seed, they assemble in vast 

 flocks, and, resorting to the fields where it grows, 

 they alight upon the plants, and plucking the burs 

 from the stem with their bills, they take them in one 

 claw, while with the bill they open it and take out 

 the fruit. In this way, a single flock will, in a few 

 lays, entirely rid a large field of the ripened seed; 



