THE PARRAKEETS 147 



Famihj Psittacidae. 

 Genus Cyan orhampiius. 

 The Parrakeets. 



Bill deeper than long, not notched, bicolor, the hook of the upper 

 mandible with a file-like surface below. Tongue simple. Second and 

 third quills the longest, the outer webs of the second to the fourth 

 strongly sinuated. Tail long and graduated. Colour green. New 

 Zealand, New Caledonia, Loyalty Islands, and Society Islands. 



Several species of parrakeets belong to New Zealand, and to the 

 islands near the mainland. They are exceedingly beautiful birds. 

 Some of them have been taught to imitate the human voice fairly 

 well. In the early days, they swanned in many parts to such 

 an extent that they became a nuisance to the settlers. Writing, in 

 regard to Otago, in 1877, Mr. E. Gillies says: "To say that they 

 are continually to be seen in tiocks of hundreds gives a very faint 

 idea of their extreme prevalence. Settlers whose cultivations 

 were in the bush had always the greatest difficulty in saving crops 

 of w^heat. These lively, roguish little birds defied all scarecrows, 

 and even shooting was found to be an endless and expensive job, 

 for, though a few might be killed at a blow, the flock just rose 

 and settled down again immediately a few yards off. I have 

 known patches of wheat rendered utterly valueless by the 

 parrakeets. So rare and scarce have they become now that 

 country settlers near the bush have quite a warm side to the 

 little green parrakeets, and often make household pets of them. ' ' 



In 1885, it was reported that there was a plague of parrakeets 

 in the Mackenzie Country, and a run-holder near Burke's Pass 

 shot 100 in two days. This slaughter, however, seemed to have 

 had no effect, and the unfortunate man's fruit crop was utterly 

 destroyed. In 1888, they invaded the towns and villages on the 

 West Coast, and spread themselves over the settled districts of 

 Canterbury. As the settlers had to take steps to protect them- 

 selves, the birds perished in thousands, but not before large 

 quantities of fruit had been consumed. Later on, in reduced 

 numbers, they returned to the bush, and to their natural haunts. 



Mr. W. W. Smith, in a letter on the subject published in the 

 Lyttelton Times at the time, attributes the disturbance mainly to 



