GREEN PARROTS 21 



any less optimistic bird would be greatly depressed at 

 having to go through life with a note which, to put it 

 mildly, is an exceedingly harsh squeak. The parrot, 

 however, so far as one can judge, is very proud of its 

 voice. It never loses an opportunity of making itself 

 heard. During its flight it habitually emits loud 

 screeches. Not only is the note harsh and loud, there 

 is in addition something particularly offensive in it. 

 What exactly this is, it is difficult to say, but I feel sure 

 that every one will agree with me when I say that the 

 bird's call is such as to make one want to punch its 

 head ! 



Evil though their character be, we must admit that 

 green parrots are very beautiful objects. They are 

 ornaments to the scenery of the country. As they fly 

 through the air, they look truly magnificent ; Lockwood 

 Kipling has happily called them " live emeralds in the 

 sun." 



Parrots are eminently social birds. They almost 

 invariably hunt in little parties of six or seven. They 

 rarely, if ever, alight upon the ground. They delight 

 to sit upon the topmost boughs of trees. At night, they 

 roost together in large flocks, not infrequently in com- 

 pany with crows and mynas. 



Green parrots nest in holes. They, as a rule, exca- 

 vate their own dwellings, their powerful beak being 

 their spade. Green parrots, 1 think, sometimes utilize 

 a ready-made hole in a tree, if one happens to be avail- 

 able. They certainly often nest in holes in buildings. 



I have been assured that these birds sometimes 

 themselves excavate holes in buildings constructed of 



