THE rAKiuas. 335 



tul'l or crest, accordiug to the iuclinatiou of the bird, but which, in general, are inclined 

 along the neck. The neck is usually but of moderate length, sometimes it is even short, 

 and tok'i-ably thick ; still, when the parrots wish to rcacli an object without changing 

 their place, they are able to elongate the neck to a certain extent. 



The body varies in degrees of robustness or elegance according to the species. In the 

 parrots proper, it seems thicker than in the others, which, perhaps, is only the effect 

 produced by the shortness and the strength and solidity of the tibia, toes, and tarsi. 

 Some long-tailed parakeets, on the contrary, are distinguished by the fineness of their 

 form and the elegance of their proportions. The breast of these birds is usually broad 

 and rounded. 



The wings are short, and their point rarely exceeds one-half the length of the tail, 

 even in species in which the tail is shortest. The first three remiges are the largest of 

 all, and pretty nearly equal with each other. 



There are differences in the tail as to the greater and less extent of the various quills 

 which compose it,, and which are twelve in number. As to its total size, it is either 

 shorter than, eqiial in length to, or larger than the body, comprising the head and 

 neck. In form it is sometimes straight or squared, when all the quills are of equal 

 length ; sometimes round, sometimes graduated, and sometimes arrow or spear-headed. 

 Sometimes it is peculiarly broad at the end ; some species have the caudal quills 

 sharp at their terminations ; and sometimes the tail is very short, and at the same time 

 graduated. 



Though the feet of the parrots are robust, and the toes well adapted for climbing, 

 there are to this some exceptions. In such instances, the birds remain constantly on 

 the ground, where they walk with swiftness, which the other birds cannot do. The 

 legs of parrots are usually feathered to the heel, but there are instances in which the 

 body of the leg is bare. The colour of the feet is usually gray, but it is in some roseous, 

 brown, or black. 



The colours of the plumage of the parrots are exceedingly varied, and almost always 

 pure and brilliant. In this respect, the adult females often differ from the males ; while 

 the young in their first or second livery, and even after the third moidting, present 

 characters peculiar to themselves. Green is, in general, the predominating colour ; then 

 comes red, then blue, and finally yellow. This last colour appears among the parrots to 

 be the general substitute for the white observed in other birds ; and it is remarkable that 

 in many of the species there are varieties imiformly yeUovv. Very often, when the 

 feathers are plucked, red and yeUow ones will .shoot forth, Avhatever may have been the 

 colour of the former. There are some species violet, pui'iale, brown, or lilac-coloured. 

 Some are known whose plumage is entirely gray ; some have it black ; and some, in fine, 

 entirely white. The plumage of this extensive family is of the most rich and varied 

 description, embracing almost every colour and gradation of tint. The Zoological 

 Society of Loudon possesses one of the finest, if not the finest, living collections of 

 these birds in the world. 



America, Brazil, and Guiana are the countries which contain the greatest number 

 of species of parrots, all of them belonging to the division of parakeets ; that of the 

 parrots proper, and that of the psittaculi. The maccaws are exclusively confined to these 

 countries. It does not apjjear that any birds of this genus are found on the chain of the 

 Cordiileras ; they ai-e not very numerous even in Paraguay. Some species belong to the 

 islands in the Gulf of Mexico ; and it is not improbable that some may exist in the 

 Floridas. On the other side of the Andes, from Chili to California, more appear to have 

 been noticed ; but many exist in Chili, on the shores of the southern ocean. 



Many birds of this genus belong to the African continent, from Senegal as far as 

 the forests which are near to the Cape of Good Hope. They are, however, fewer in 



