THE BIRDS 303 



and yellow, are two typical examples of these brilliant birds. Many 

 of the Parrakeets are hardly less gorgeous than the long-tailed 

 Macaws, and the Cockatoos, though not so vivid in hue, are 

 distinguished by the handsome crest of feathers they bear upon 

 their heads. 



In captivity the Parrots display considerable affection and 

 intelligence, and their amusing ways and power of mimicking 

 the human voice and reproducing almost any sounds they hear 

 make them exceedingly popular as cage birds. The African 

 Grey Parrot (P. erithacus) is generally considered the best talker, 

 but several other species are almost, if not quite, as clever in this 

 respect. 



Parrots are found in tropical and sub-tropical regions, their 

 head-quarters being in Australia and the Malay countries. In 

 their habits they are, for the most part, arboreal; in woods and 

 forests they climb about the trees, swinging with the greatest ease 

 from branch to branch by the aid of strong claws and stout, hooked 

 bills. They are, too, the only birds that hold their food in their claws 

 when feeding. In writing of the Parrots Dr. A. R. Wallace says : 

 " They usually feed in flocks ; they are noisy, and so attract atten- 

 tion ; 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 immense long 

 tails of the macaws, and the more slender tails of the parraquets, 

 the fine crests of the cockatoos, and the swift flight of many of the 

 smaller species, and the graceful motions of the little love-birds 

 and allied forms, together with their affectionate manners, aptitude 

 for domestication, and powers of mimicry, combine to render them 

 at once the most attractive of all the specially tropical forms of 

 bird life." 



Parrots are essentially vegetable feeders; herbage, fruits, 

 flowers, seeds, and nuts are their natural food ; but one species 

 at least, the Kea, or Mountain Nestor, one of the brush-tongued 

 Parrots, has departed from the customs of the family, and has 

 developed a taste for fresh meat. This bird lives in the southern 

 islands of New Zealand, and from pecking at sheepskins hung up 

 outside country stations it proceeded to attack living sheep, and 

 occasionally even horses, alighting on the backs and tearing the 



