294 TROPICAL NATURE 



into light or deep blue, as in some macaws ; into pure yellow 

 or rich orange, as in some of the American macaw -parrots 

 (Conurus); into purple, gray, or dove-colour, as in some 

 American, African, and Indian species ; into the purest crim- 

 son, as in some of the lories ; into rosy- white and pure white, 

 as in the cockatoos ; and into a deep purple, ashy, or black, 

 as in several Papuan, Australian, and Mascarene species. 

 There is, in fact, hardly a single distinct and definable colour 

 that cannot be fairly matched among the 400 species of 

 known parrots. Their habits, too, are such as to bring them 

 prominently before the eye. They usually feed in flocks ; 

 they are noisy, and so attract attention ; they love gardens, 

 orchards, and open sunny places ; they wander about far in 

 search of food, and towards sunset return homewards in noisy 

 flocks, or in constant pairs. Their forms and motions are 

 often beautiful and attractive. The immensely long tails of 

 the macaws, and the more slender tails of the Indian parra- 

 quets ; the fine crest of the cockatoos ; the swift flight of 

 many of the smaller species, and the graceful motions of the 

 little love-birds and allied forms, together with their affec- 

 tionate natures, aptitude for domestication, and powers of 

 mimicry combine to render them at once the most con- 

 spicuous and the most attractive of all the specially tropical 

 forms of bird-life. 



The number of species of parrots found in the different 

 divisions of the tropics is very unequal. Africa is by far the 

 poorest; since along with Madagascar and the Mascarene 

 islands, which have many peculiar forms, it scarcely numbers 

 two dozen species. Asia, along with the Malay islands as far 

 as Java and Borneo, is also very poor, with about thirty 

 species. Tropical America is very much richer, possessing 

 about 140 species, among which are many of the largest and 

 most beautiful forms. But of all parts of the globe the 

 tropical islands belonging to the Australian region (from 

 Celebes eastward), together with the tropical parts of Australia, 

 are richest in the parrot tribe, possessing more than 150 species, 

 among which are many of the most remarkable and beautiful 

 of the entire group. The whole Australian region, whose 

 extreme limits may be defined by Celebes, the Marquesas, and 

 the New Zealand group, possesses over 200 species of parrots. 



