222 PAROQUETS. 



ORDER PSITTACI. PARROTS, MACAWS, PAROQUETS, 



ETC. 



Family Psittacid^. Parrots and Paroquets. 



The order Psittaci is divided into six families containing in all 

 about five hundred species. The American species, some one hundred 

 and fi^fty in number, are included in the present family. Only one 

 s[)ecies inhabits the United States, and it is not found south of our 

 boundaries. Parrots and Paroquets — the dividing line between the 

 two can not be sharply drawn — are forest-inhabiting, fruit- and seed- 

 eating birds. They are poor walkers, good climbers, and strong fliers, 

 making extended flights in search of food. Their voices in Nature 

 are harsh and discordant ; nevertheless, almost all the species possess 

 the power of speech. Some, however, rarely learn to talk, while others 

 invariably do. The red-tailed, gray African Parrot (Psittacus eryiha- 

 cus) takes first rank for ability in this direction, while the Mexican 

 Double Yellow-head (Amazona levaillanti) is usually accorded second 

 place. 



382. Conurus carolinensis {Linn.). Carolina Paroquet. (See 

 Fig. 34.) Ad. — Head and neck all around yellow; forehead and cheeks deep 

 orange ; bend of the wing and tibiae orange ; rest of the plumage bright green ; 

 the inner vanes of the wing-feathers fuscous ; the under surface of the tail yel- 

 lowish. Itti. — Similar, but the head and neck green like the back ; forehead 

 and region in front of the eye orange ; tibiae and bend of the wing without 

 orange. L., 12-50 ; W., 7-40 ; T., 6-50. 



Ravge. — Formerly eastern United States north to Maryland, the Great 

 Lakes, and Iowa ; west to Colorado, the Indian Territory, and eastern Texas ; 

 now restricted to a few localities in the wilder parts of Indian Territory and 

 Florida. (On the extermination of the Paroquet, see Ilasbrouck, Auk, viii, 

 1891, pp. 369-379, with map; and Butler, ibid., ix, 1892, pp. 49-56.) 



Nest., said to be in a hollow cypress or sycamore tree, but no exact, de- 

 tailed account of the nidification of this species has been published. £ggs, 

 two, white, 1-44 X 1-12. 



The complete extermination of the Paroquet throughout the greater 

 part of its range is due chiefly to four causes : first, it was destructive 

 to fruit orchards, and for this reason was killed by agriculturists ; 

 second, it has been trapped and bagged in enormous numbers by pro- 

 fessional bird-catchers ; third, it has been killed in myriads for its 

 plumage ; and, fourth, it has been wantonly slaughtered by so-called 

 sportsmen. In short, in the present century the Paroquet has always 

 disappeared soon after its haunts were invaded by civilized man. 



I made three visits to Florida before learning of a locality where 

 Paroquets could be found. Finally, in March, 1889, while collecting 



