214 THE CAROLINA PARROT. 



They render the fanner great service, by eating the cockle- 

 burs which grow on the rich alhivial soil of Carolina, This 

 })rickly fruit is apt to come off on the wool of the sheep, 

 which, in some places, it almost completely destroys. The 

 bird also lives on the beech-nut and seeds of the cypress. 

 The head — with the brains — and intestines of the Carolina 

 parrot are said to be poisonous to eat ; but how far such is the 

 case seems to be a matter of doubt. 



Its chief abode is along the shores of the Mississippi, and 

 it reaches the neighbourhood of Lake Michigan ; but eastw^ard 

 of the Alleghany Mountains it is seldom met with further 

 north than the State of Maryland. Far more hardy than the 

 generality of the parrot tribe, a flock has been seen facing a 

 snow-storm alono" the banks of the Ohio. 



CD 



