NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK HOLLISTER. 685 



species, including the yellow-and-blue [{Ara ararawna) and the 

 Brazilian green macaw (^4. severa) may be seen in the bird house. 



The thick-billed parrot {Rhynchopsitta i^achyrhynclm) is the only 

 member of the parrot group, excepting the almost extinct Carolina 

 parakeet, known to occur in the United States. At intervals a num- 

 ber of years apart, flights of these birds arrive in the mountains of 

 southern Arizona, coming out of Mexico. The specimens shown were 

 captured in January, 1918, in the pine-forested Chiracahua Moun- 

 tains, when the ground in the higher altitudes where the birds feed 

 on the pine seeds was covered with snow and the temperature stood 

 at 10 above zero. The thick-bills are exceedingly noisy birds and, as 

 they visited the Chiracahuas in flocks of 150 to 200 individuals, must 

 have presented a spectacular appearance in this wintry environment. 



A group of parrots known as the Amazons occur in tropical Amer- 

 ica. There are about 50 species known, the greater part of which 

 are green with red markings in some part of the pkunage. They 

 sire common cage species and include some of the best of "talkers." 

 Unlike the macaws, all have short tails. The collection now con- 

 tains the following species of this group : 



Cuban parrot [Aiiuizona Icvcocrphala). 

 Santo Domingo parrot {A. ventralis). 

 P^stive parrot {A. f estiva). 

 Plain-colored parrot {A. farinosa inornata). 

 Yellow-fronted parrot {A. ochrocvphuJa) . 

 Yellow-winged parrot {A. barbadensis) . 

 Yellow-naped parrot {A. avropalluita). 

 Yellow-headed parrot {A. oratrix). 

 Orange-winged parrot {A. amazonica). 

 Yellow-cheeked parrot (A. (nitionualis). 

 White-fronted parrot {A. alhlfrons). 



An African species which is considered to be fully equal to some 

 of the Amazons as a talker is the gray parrot {Psittacus e^'ithacus) . 

 It is an ashy gray in color, with black wing feathers and red tail. 

 A very attractive group of parrots, many species of which are popu- 

 lar as cage birds, is the group known as the parakeets. These are all 

 small birds, some of them actually diminutive. One of the com- 

 monest forms kept as a pet is the shell parakeet, or Australian grass 

 parakeet {Melo psittacus undulatus). This species breeds in cap- 

 tivity, nesting in a small box placed within its inclosure. In a wild 

 state it is said to flock by thousands and spends a considerable por- 

 tion of the time on the ground, feeding upon the seeds of grasses. 

 The love bird {Agapornis pullarla) belongs to an African section of 

 the parakeet tribe and is also popular as a cage pet. The park is 

 fortunate in the possession of a splendid specimen of the black- 

 tailed parakeet {PolyteUs melanura), a handsome Australian species 

 now very rare. 



