466 



SCANSOEES, OE CLIMBEES. 



habits. According to M. J. Verreaux, tliey never perch when 

 pursued, but take refuge on the ground among the herbage. 



Parrots, properly speaking, are distinguished from other groups 

 of the same family by their short square tails. They have feathered 

 cheeks like Parakeets, and their size is intermediate between them 

 and the Aras. They are much appreciated on account of their 

 memory, and also for their habit of repeating what they hear. 

 Parrots are divided into several species, founded upon the size 

 and the predominating colour of the plumage. The first of 

 these is generally grey, and consists only of the Grey Par- 

 rot, or Jaco, indigenous to the West Coast of Africa, to which 



Fig. 163. — Ureeu Parrot [Futtaciis amazoniais, Briss.J. 



the chief part of the anecdotes recounted in the preceding pages 

 relate. Next comes a species the plumage of which is green ; 

 the most remarkable of these is the Amazonian Parrot. The 

 principal colour of the Lories is red ; they inhabit the Moluccas 

 and New Guinea. Love-birds (Fig. 186) are the smallest of this 

 group ; their plumage varies in shades according to the climates. 

 They are met with in America, Southern Africa, and in the islands 

 of Oceania. 



Cockatoos have tails of medium length, cheeks feathered, and 

 head surmounted by a white, yellow, or pink tuft, which they can 



