THE OOLOGIST. 



245 



and loose ilebiis iu general, well heaped 

 tip and well depressed in the center. 

 "Thtjjwere sometimes so close together 

 that it must have been difficult for the 

 bii'ds to iucubate without touching each 

 other. The eggs commonly three, 2.07- 

 2.50x1.63-1.70, are drab, generally, some- 

 what olivaceous, variously specked, 

 spotted and blotched with shades of 

 dark brown ami grayish brown. Often 

 the markings are very large and few iu 

 number. There is much greater varie- 

 ty in the color, marking and size of the 

 •eggs than in those of the common Gull. 

 The number of this species inhabiting 

 this island was immense. At certain 

 points along the shore, the water and 

 the beach were Avhite with them; and 

 when they rose, they spread out like 

 •clouds overhead. 



J. II. Langille, 

 Kensington, Md. 



P. S. — This article is the substance of 

 ^ discussion befoi'e the Ornithologists' 

 Association at Washington, D. C. 



Oct, 6, 181)1. 



The Carolina Parrot, 

 ( Coiuirus carolinensis .) 



Having been for several j-ears engag- 

 ed in the special study of the great 

 family of Parrots I have naturally given 

 ^ great deal of attention to the one 

 species which formerly inhabited the 

 ■greater portion of Eastern North Amer- 

 ica or more ])roi)erly speaking that ])or- 

 tion of the United States lying east of 

 the Mississippi River and south of the 

 "Great Lakes. 



This Parakeet was, during the time 

 ■<jf Audubon, found in immen.se num- 

 bers iu all of the Southern States and 

 as far north as Nortiieru New York, 

 In a recent numl^er of the "Auk" (See 

 Auk for October 1801) Mr. IIasl)n)ii(k 

 has this to .say regarding tlie former 

 rangeof this bird to the north; "Accord- 

 ing to IJnrton, writing in 1700, a llock 



of Paroquets a])peared in January aljout 

 twenty-live miles northwest of Albany, 

 New York, causing great alarm among 

 the simple Dutch folks w'ho looked up. 

 on the advent of the birds as indicative 

 of coming evil. Audubon also states 

 (Birds of Am., Vol. IV, p- 309) that 

 about 1807 they could be i)rocurred "as 

 far northeast as Lake Ontai'io." This 

 is presunuibly the most northern record 

 for the species." 



On November 1, 1880 Mr. P. M. Chap- 

 man read before a meeting of the Lia- 

 nean Society of New York, a paper en- 

 titled "Notes on the Carolina Paroquet 

 in Florida." In this paper, compiled 

 from personal observation, Mr. Chap- 

 man writes as follows: "Fifteen years 

 ago, Paroquets were more or less gen- 

 erally distributed throughout Florida 

 and and in many cases were e.Ktremely 

 abundant, and even at more recent 

 date wei'e not uncommon in numerous 

 localities, but to-day th^' have entirely 

 disappeared from the more settled por- 

 tions of the state, and we may look for 

 them only beyoiul the bounds of civili- 

 zation, indeed in regions which are prac- 

 tically uuinhabital)le. In what num- 

 bers they still exist is impo.ssible for us 

 to say." 



That they were once widely distri- 

 buteil and that they ai'e now couliued 

 to a limited area is an undisputed fact. 

 On account of their great fondness for 

 fruit and consequent destrnc-tiveness 

 may be attrilMited their early disappear* 

 ance from our midst as records show 

 that immense nuujbers were killed by 

 the farmers and fruit growers of the 

 southern states. Their destruction was 

 comparatively easy on account of their 

 habit of slaying in the immediate vicin.* 

 ity of a woundeil (-omrade till all were 

 dcstnjyed. Then again immense num« 

 l)ers have beciu kilhid l)y plume hunters 

 in southern Floriila, so that one desir- 

 ing to see this beautiful bird iu its 

 haunts must now visit Florida "Evor- 

 ghules." A ffW aif found in soiiihern 



