PARROTS. 



363 



The c;ray parrots, forming the family Psittacid^, are few in number, and arc con- 

 fined to Africa and Madagascar. Thi-y have a broad cere covering tlie whole base 

 of tlie upper bill ; tliere is a naked space around the eye, the upper mandible is 

 rounded and smooth, and its cutting edges arc without teeth. The wings arc rather 

 long, and the tail, about as long as the wings, is straight or weakly rounded. Their 

 plumage is gray or blackish, and they are without the bright feathers so characteristic 

 of most members of the ordci-, but to coiuiionsatc tlioy are among the best talkers of 





Pin. 168. — Paitlacus eritUaeus, jako, gray-parrot. 



the group. They fly poorly, but walk about on the ground, or climb with great agility 

 among the branches of the trees. They are very social and live in vast flocks, feeding 

 on the fruits and especi.iUy on the grains of the region, sometimes committing serious 

 depredations on the fields of the colonists. 



Two genera are recognized, ('oraropsis wnA Psittacus. The former emlir.nccs the 

 Vaza-parrots of Madagascar, species which show many points of resemblance to the 

 extinct Mascarine parrot mentioned on a prececding page. Of the two species of 



