Popular HBCrtionarg of 3m'matrtt Mature. 495 



they cling close to the sides of the tree, 

 holding fast by the claws and also by the 

 bills. They appear to be fond of sleep, and 

 often retire to their holes during the day. 

 probably to take their regular siesta. They 

 are extremely sociable with and fond of each 

 other, often scratching each other's heads 

 and necks, and always, at night, nestling as 

 close as possible to each other, preferring, at 

 that time, a perpendicular position, sup- 

 ported by their bill and claws. In the fall, 

 when their favourite cockle-burs are ripe, 

 they swarm along the coast, or high grounds 

 of the Mississippi, above New Orleans, for a 

 great extent. At such times, they are killed 

 and eaten by many of the inhabitants ; 

 though, I confess, I think their flesh very 

 indifferent. I have several times dined on 

 it from necessity, in the woods : but found 

 it merely passable, with all the sauce of a 

 keen appetite to recommend it. 



" The Carolina or Illinois parrot (for it 

 has been described under both these appel- 

 lations) is thirteen inches long, and twenty- 

 one in extent ; forehead and cheeks, orange 

 red ; bej'ond this, for an inch and a half, 

 down and round the neck, a rich and pure 

 yellow ; shoulder and bend of the wing, also 

 edged with rich orange red. The general 

 colour of the rest of the plumage is a bright 

 yellowish silky green, with light blue re- 

 flections, lightest and most diluted with 

 yellow below ; greater wing-coverts and 

 roots of the primaries, yellow, slightlv tinged 

 with green ; interior webs of the primaries, 

 deep dusky purple, almost black, exterior 

 ones, bluish green ; tail, long, cuneiform, 

 consisting of twelve feathers, the exterior 

 one only half the length, the others in- 

 creasing to the middle ones, which are 

 streaked along the middle with light blue ; 

 shafts of all the larger feathers, and of most 

 part of the green plumage, black ; knees and 

 vent, orange yellow ; feet, a pale whitish 

 flesh colour ; claws, black ; bill, white, or 

 slightly tinged with pale cream ; iris of the 

 eye, hazel ; round the eye is a small space 

 without feathers, covered with a whitish 

 skin ; nostrils placed in an elevated mem- 

 brane at the base of the bill, and covered 

 with feathers ; chin, wholly bare of feathers, 

 but concealed by those descending on each 

 side ; from each side of the palate hangs a 

 lobe or skin of a blackish colour ; tongue, 

 thick and fleshy ; inside of the upper man- 

 dible near the point, grooved exactly like a 

 flle, that it may hold with more security. 

 The female differs very little in her colours 

 and markings from the male. After ex- 

 amining numerous specimens, the following 

 appear to be the principal differences. The 

 yellow on the neck of the female does not 

 descend quite so far ; the interior vanes of 

 the primaries are brownish, instead of black, 

 and the orange red on the bend and edges 

 of the wing is considerably narrower ; in 

 other respects, the colours and markings are 

 nearly the same." 



PARROT-FISH. (.Scams,} This fish ob- 

 tains its name from the peculiar hooked eon- 

 formation of its mouth, or the brillancy of 

 its colours, or perhaps fraui both. It has 



large, convex, rounded jaws, covered with 

 hard, scale-like teeth, which succeed each 

 other from the rear to the front in such a 

 manner, that the bases of the newest form a 

 cutting edge. It is about a foot long ; the 

 colour is greenish, variegated near the head 

 with yellow ; the fins are blue, and the scales 

 are very large. Numerous species of this 

 genus inhabit tropical seas, some of them 

 being remarkably brilliant ; but they are 

 mostly noticeable for the immense strength of 

 their jaws and teeth enabling them to browse 

 without difficulty on the newest layers of the 

 stony corals, digesting the animal matter 

 therein contained, and setting free the car- 

 bonate of lime in a chalky state. The flesh 

 of the Parrot-fish is firm and well-tasted. 



PARTHENOPE. A remarkable genus 

 of short-tailed Crustacea, the rugosities on 

 the back of the best known species of which 

 give the crab the appearance of a piece of 

 rock eroded by the sea ; this species is the 

 P. horrida, and is found in the Indian 

 ocean. 



PARTRIDGE. (Perdix cinereus.') This 

 well-known bird is about thirteen inches in 

 length. The general colour of its plumage 

 is brown and ash, beautifully mixed with 

 black, and each feather streaked down the 

 middle with buff: the upper part of the 

 neck is transversely varied with dusky gray, 

 and a tinge of red : the sides of the head are 

 tawny ; under each eye is a small saffron- 

 coloured spot, which has a granulated ap- 

 pearance, and between the eye and the ear 

 a naked skin of bright scarlet, which is not 

 very conspicuous but in old birds : the under 

 part of the neck and breast are bluish gray, 

 marked with transverse black lines, and 



COMMON PA.RTRTDOK 

 (PSKDIX CIKBREU8.) 



sprinkled with small reddish spots : on the 

 lower part of the breast is a rich gorget of 

 deep chestnut, in form of a horse-shoe : the 

 tail is short and drooping ; the legs are 

 greenish white, and furnished with a small 

 knob behind. The female has no crescent 

 on the breast ; and her colours in general 

 are not so distinct and bright as those of the 

 male. Partridges pair early in the spring : 



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