^"/O . IIasbkouck (>// Ike Carolina Paroquet. [October 



of revenue to huiulreds, are now either al)andoned or so far re- 

 nioxed from tlie haunts of man as to be unknown. f 



As early as 1832, Audubon speaks of the Paroquet as being not 

 nearly so common as formerly, and from that time till the present 

 they have been becoming less and less numerous until now they 

 are confined to limited areas, and even here are comparativelv 

 scarce. In glancing at that portion of the map bounded by the 

 heavy line (representing tlie area over which they formerly ex- 

 tended), we are amazed at the extent of territory thev formerly 

 covered, and can form some little idea of the persecutions to 

 wliich they have l)cen sul)jected to totallv drive them from their 

 haunts into the isolated regions they are known to inhabit at 

 present. These persecutions (according to all accounts) w^ere 

 not wholly unmerited, as Audubon and Wilson both speak of the 

 destruction caused by these birds among fruit orchards, seemingly 

 out of pure mischief. The former relates an instance of which he 

 himself was an eye witness: — The orchard of a certain fruit 

 grower was visited at the season when buds were developing into 

 fruit, by an immense flock of Paroquets, and in a few hours was 

 completely stripped by them; the birds working in regular 

 manner from tree to tree, and failing so far as he could observe 

 to make use of any of the spoils as food. Naturally, he con- 

 tinues, such depredations were not to be perpetrated witli im- 

 punity, and retaliation was meted out in the shape of death to as 

 many a^ could be killed. Unfortunately for the evil tloers, a habit 

 peculiar with them is that of knowing little or no fear of fire arms 

 and the wounding of an individual is but the signal for the practi- 

 cal extermination of theentiie flock: returning again and again to 

 the scene of slaughter, they fly screaming over their dead com- 

 panions, falling an easy prey to the marksman who has but to 

 load and fire at pleasure until the numbers become too few or too 

 scattering to make it worth the while. This one peculiar trait is 

 what has apparently letl to their rapid disappearance, for the 

 punishment, merited to a certain extent as previously stated, was 

 not visited with a due amount of discretion — which may be said 

 to be the rule rather than the exception in the case of an irate 

 farmer with a shot gun. This, coupled with the shooting for 

 sport {}) by pot-hunters, etc., has practically exterminated one of 

 the most beautiful birds that graced the American continent. 



t Auk, VI, 1887, p. 285. 



