Ca Butler on the Carolina Parrakeet. [January 



where a nest could have been secured. I think it may be set 

 down as a fact that Parrakeets make their nests inside of hollow 

 trees, always selecting a tree witli a side opening into the hollow 

 near the top. I had often, before and since I secured these birds, 

 passed through the region where they were captured, and seldom 

 if ever passed without seeing Parrakeets. It was near White 

 River, where the road was for many miles almost always in sight 

 of the river, with cornfields on the bottom lands and here and 

 there a dead tree in the fields and on the river bank. Parrakeets, 

 more or less in numbers (never in flocks), could be seen flying 

 from tree to tree. My admiration for these beautiful birds was 

 unliounded, and I often wished I could capture one, but they were 

 so wild that I had no hope of ever accomplishing it. The young 

 birds I secured all lived to maturity and were kept by me for 

 several years in a large cage made for the purpose. The special 

 food of the Parrakeet was the 'cuckle burr.' It was my custom 

 to gather large quantities of these burrs in the fall to last until 

 they ripened again. In eating, the bird picked up a burr with its 

 beak, this was then delivered to one foot raised to receive it. 

 Then one end of the burr was cut oft' with the sharp-ended under 

 beak, the burr being held with the foot and the under side of the 

 upper beak while two small kernels were extracted with the 

 assistance of the tongue and the husk was thrown away. Parra- 

 keets will leave any other kind of food for cuckle-burrs, but will 

 eat all kinds of nuts, if broken, and various kinds of seeds. I 

 never knew them to eat meat of any kind. They invariably roost 

 on the side of the cage with their beak hooked over one of the 

 wires. It has been claimed that they roost hanging by their beak 

 but this is a mistake. I did everything I could to induce them to 

 breed, by providing them with nests, materials for shells, etc., 

 but without success. I do not think they will breed in confine- 

 ment. Most of the time I kept their wings cropped so that they 

 could not fly, and allowed them much freedom in this way. 

 They would climb into trees in the yard, but return to the cage to 

 feed and to roost. They knew me and were pleased to have me 

 visit them and allow them to climb on me, but would bite me the 

 same as any one else if I put my hands on them. They were 

 extremely fond of one another and exhibited great distress if one 

 was absent for any length of time. 1 often took one or two of 

 them away on my shoulder and was absent ^in hour or twp, and 



