

156 CAROLINA PARROT. 



Tennessee river; after this I saw no more till I reached Bayo 

 St. Pierre, a distance of several hundred miles; from all which 

 circumstances, I think we cannot, from the residences of these 

 birds, establish with propriety, any correct standard by which 

 to judge of the comparative temperatures of different climates. 

 In descending the river Ohio, by myself, in the month of 

 February, I met with the first flock of Paroquets at the mouth 

 of the Little Sioto. I had been informed, by an old and re- 

 spectable inhabitant of Marietta, that they were sometimes, 

 though rarely, seen there. I observed flocks of them, afterwards, 

 at the mouth of the Great and little Miami, and in the neigh- 

 bourhood of numerous creeks, that discharge themselves into 

 the Ohio. At Big-Bone lick, thirty miles above the mouth of 

 Kentucky river, I saw them in great numbers. They came 

 screaming through the woods in the morning, about an hour 

 after sunrise, to drink the salt water, of which they, as well as 

 the pigeons, are remarkably fond. When they alighted on the 

 ground, it appeared, at a distance, as if covered with a carpet 

 of the richest green, orange and yellow. They afterwards set- 

 tled, in one body, on a neighbouring tree, which stood detached 

 from any other, covering almost every twig of it, and the sun 

 shining strongly on their gay and glossy plumage, produced a 

 very beautiful and splendid appearance. Here I had an oppor- 

 tunity of observing some very particular traits of their character. 

 Having shot down a number, some of which were only wound- 

 ed, the whole flock swept repeatedly around their prostrate com- 

 panions, and again settled on a low tree, within twenty yards of 

 the spot where I stood. At each successive discharge, though 

 showers of them fell, yet the affection of the survivors seemed 

 rather to increase; for after a few circuits around the place, they 

 again alighted near me, looking down on their slaughtered 

 companions, with such manifest symptoms of sympathy and 

 concern, as entirely disarmed me. I could not but take notice 

 of the remarkable contrast between their elegant manner of 

 flight, and their lame and crawling gait among the branches. 

 They fly very much like the Wild Pigeon, in close, compact 



