288 



A COURSE ON ZOOLOGY. 

 FIG. 236. 



Heads of a, short-eared owl ; b, long-eared owl; and c, snowy owl. 



Psittaci. The parrots, paroquets, and cockatoos are 

 very numerous. They have thick, short bills, and large, 

 fleshy tongues. They do not fly well, but climb with 

 great ease, using for this purpose both the beak and the 

 feet. They carry their food to the mouth with one foot, 

 standing on the other. They live on nuts and seeds, 

 which they are able to extract 

 PIG. 237. from the shell, however hard 



that may be. 



The cockatoos are found in 

 Australia and the Indian Archi- 

 pelago, the largest species being 

 two feet in length. They are 

 white, with yellow crests, but 

 there is a black species. Par- 

 rots are found in nearly all 

 tropical countries ; a large 

 species occurs in Mexico; and 

 paroquets, which are smaller, 

 GRAY PARROT. are found as far north as the 



Carolinas. 



Coccyges. We need mention but two members of 

 this order, the cuckoos and the kingfishers. The former 

 live in the fields, and are well known for their habit 

 of placing their eggs in the nests of other insectivorous 



