170 Birds of British Guiana , 



The Birds of British Guiana. 



By Chas. Dawson, SJ., M.A., (Oxon). 



This article i;; reprinted from the " Journal of the Board of Agriculture of 

 r.rit, Guiana," with our apologies and thanks to the Editor, Author and 

 i'roprielors. — Editor " Bird Notes." 



PARROTS. 



Under this head are inchided the following : — 



Macaws, peculiar to the Neo-Tropical regions; Cocka- 

 toos, peculiar to the Australian regions; Nestors of New 

 Zealand, including the Kea, which has recently become carnivor- 

 ous, making havoc among sheep by digging into their kidneys 

 for the sake of the fat; Lories of New Guinea and the Malay 

 Archipelago ; besides Parrots proper, Parrakeets and Love-birds 

 found, with few exceptions, in all Tropical regions, though each 

 with its peculiar orders and species. 



Parrots are the most intelligent of all the feathered 

 tribes. Possessing proportionately more brain than all the other 

 birds, easily domesticated, prettily or even gaudily coloured, 

 knowing in their ways, and with a wonderful capacity of imi- 

 tating sounds and even the human voice, they are everywhere 

 popular as pets and familiars. 



Characteristics of the whole family are: round heads, 

 zygodactyl feet, a highly dilatable iris, a fleshy tongue, and 

 (what is common to no other bird), a pincer-like beak with a 

 luoveable maxilla (upper beak) and the use of the foot as a 

 hand. We may also add " powder-down patches "' which give 

 to certain parrots when in good health the appearance of being 

 covered with bloom. There are in all seventy-nine genera, in- 

 cluding five hundred and seventy species, two hundred of which 

 belong to the American Continents; one species, the Carolina 

 Parrakeet being found in the United States. 



The food of parrots consists of fruit, nuts, berries, and 

 seeds. Lories feed on honey which they extract from flowers 

 with their brush-tipped tongues; the Kakapo or Owl parrot of 

 Xevv Zealand will add lizards to its bill of fare and the Nestors, 

 insects and their larvse; while certain Cockatoos will dig in the 

 the earth for roots and tubers. 



