AVES PSITTACID^. 



721 



found in large flocks, and settles usually on bare trees. By the natives it 

 is called ' Loro Barranquero,' as it builds its nests in holes in the barrancas 

 or cliffs. When one is shot of a flock flying over, the rest will continue 



Fig. 370. Cyanoliseus palagonus. Shape of tail. About two-thirds natural size. 



to whirl round the spot long enough to give the sportsman time to kill 

 nearly the whole ; and at every shot, as the victims tumble, the rest re- 

 double their screams, so that the noise, always great, becomes at length 

 deafening. 



"At Cosquin, in the neighborhood of Cordoba, I had more opportunity 

 of observing them. They are extremely abundant throughout the sierras 

 there, and are very destructive to crops. 



"On each patch of ground sown with wheat or maize a boy is stationed 

 as a scarecrow ; and the shouts of these, the whole length of the valley, 

 some leagues, almost rival in intensity the parrot chorus. 



