226 THE SPEAKING PARROTS. 



so that the grey on the forehead and breast appears marked 

 as with delicate scales, the breast having a noticeably brown 

 shade ; all the rest of the upper part of the body is grass- 

 green ; the shoulders are shaded with an olive-greenish brown- 

 grey ; the primaries indigo-blue ; the secondaries, the coverts, 

 and the bend of the wing, blue ; the whole of the wings 

 greenish-blue on the reverse side, the inner webs edged with 

 greenish-yellow ; the lower part of the breast and the belly a 

 light yellowish-grey; the lower part of the belly, the thigh, 

 hinder part of the body, and the under coverts of the tail, 

 yellowish-green ; beak yellowish-grey ; eyes brown ; feet brownish- 

 grey ; claws blackish. The plumage of the young birds is of a 

 less lively green and more uniform grey, the light tips to the 

 feathers on the neck and breast not yet being apparent ; the 

 wings are not a pure blue, but rather greenish. Size, that of 

 a thrush (length, lOfin. ; wings, 4|in. to Gin. ; longest feathers 

 of the tail, 4|in. to 5Jin. ; outermost feathers of the tail, 

 2Jin. to 3§in.). 



Its home is in the western parts of South America, and it is 

 said to be common in Paraguay, Uruguay, the Argentine 

 Eepublic, and Bolivia. It is found in the mountains up to an 

 elevation of between 300ft. and 400ft. The Grey-breasted 

 Parrakeet was described and named by Gmelin, 1783. The 

 American discoverers, especially Azara, Darwin, Eengger, 

 Burmeister, Gibson, and others, have given us full details of 

 its life in freedom. These parrakeets always live gregariously, 

 even in the breeding season. Their flight is rapid and skilful, 

 with quick strokes of the wing ; they climb with uncommon 

 cleverness, but, on the ground, run awkwardly, and, being tree 

 birds, seldom alight. A flock of them always betrays itself, 

 wherever they may be, by continual shrill, piercing cries. Their 

 food consists of seeds, fruits, and, during summer and autumn, 

 chiefly of thistle seeds. The forests, a traveller tells us, con- 

 tain thousands of the nests of these parrakeets, which usually 

 hang from the ends of the branches, into which they are woven. 

 Each separate nest consists of an ante-chamber, and behind 

 this the real nest, which is always occupied by one couple. 

 The entrance is usually effected from below, but if it should be 

 at the side, it is protected by a projecting roof. In this manner 

 about a dozen pairs build their nests close together; every 

 spring the couples build new nests upon the old ones, and thus 

 there arises in time an enormous pile of these structures in 



