240 LOST AND VANISHING BIRDS 



nowadays it is very exceptional to see more than a 

 score together, and usually small companies of six 

 or a dozen. They are most active in the morning 

 and evening, passing the middle of the day on some 

 favourite tree, hidden amongst the foliage, which 

 assimilates so closely with the colour of their 

 plumage as to render their discovery difficult. Mr. 

 M'llhenny says that in fall their food partly con- 

 sists of the fruit of the honey locust, and that after 

 feeding they retire to drink and to bathe. 



There is much difference of opinion amongst 

 naturalists respecting the breeding habits of the 

 Carolina Paroquet. Mr. Brewster (Auk, 1889, pp. 

 336, 337) made many inquiries in Florida concern- 

 ing its nest, but only three men professed to know 

 anything whatever about it. Two of these — 

 hunters and bird-catchers — described the nest as 

 a flimsy structure built of twigs, and placed on 

 the branches of cypress trees. Confirming these 

 statements, Judge Long assured Mr. Brewster 

 that he had examined many nests built precisely 

 as described above. Formerly he found these 

 Paroquets breeding in large colonies in the cypress 

 swamps. Several of these colonies were composed 

 of at least a thousand birds each. They nested 

 invariably in small cypresses, the favourite position 



