350 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. 



tail. Parrots usually associate together in large flocks, some living in forests, others 

 on grassy plains. Their food is mostly of a vegetable nature, buds, leaves, seeds, 

 fruit, and the like. 



Their natural voice is usually harsh and discordant, but many of the species, as is 

 well known, possess great imitative powers, learning not only to repeat long sentences 

 but also to reproduce the most complex sounds which they may hear. Capacity in this 

 direction varies not only with the species but with the individual. 



Concerning the conversational powers of parrots, page after page could be written; 

 many of their sayings seem so apt that one can hardly escape the belief that they 

 reason as well as talk. Instance after instance is on record where it would almost 

 seem as if these birds took circumstances into consideration and knew the full force of 

 what they were saying. Notwithstanding the limitations of space, one of these must 

 be quoted here. Mr. Sharpe of the British Museum is the authority for the follow- 

 ing : " A friend in Manchester told the writer of a parrot-show in the north of Eng- 

 land, where the talking powers of each bird were made the subject of a prize 

 competition. Several of the birds had exhibited their powers, and at last the cover 

 was removed from the cage of a gray parrot, who at once exclaimed, on seeing the 

 company to which he was suddenly introduced, ' By Jove ! what a lot of parrots,' an 

 observation which gained him the prize at once." 



The owl-parrots of New Zealand and Australia are admitted by all to stand at the 

 bottom of the Psittacine series, where they form the family STKINGOPIDJE, of which 

 but four species are known. They have a short, thick, untoothed beak ; short wings 

 which reach to the base of the rounded tail ; the nostrils free, and surrounded by a 

 swollen margin. The feathers are banded and spotted with yellow, green, and black. 



Of the genus Stringops two species, both from New Zealand, are known, but one 

 of these (S. greyi) is possibly extinct. The genus may be recognized by its moder- 

 ately sized head, the long and stiff feathers on the face, the grooves on the sides of 

 the bill, and by having the fourth and fifth, or fourth, fifth, and sixth wing feathers 

 the longest, and the tail feathers pointed. The species rarely fly, and, from the effects 

 of disuse, the keel of the sternum, so greatly developed in most birds, has disappeared, 

 and the furculum is wanting. 



The owl-parrot, or kakapo (Stringops habroptilus), is interesting from its habits and 

 appearance, combining as it does to a considerable extent those of the owls as well as 

 of the parrots. It was first known from feathers in the possession of the Maori, and it 

 was not until 1845 that specimens came to the hands of naturalists. It is largely 

 though not exclusively nocturnal, and is a vegetarian, feeding on roots as well as on 

 leaves and tender twigs. In color it is green with longitudinal dashes of yellow, and 

 with interrupted cross-bars of black. Around the eyes are discs like those of the 

 owls, and here the feathers are a light yellowish brown. The irides are dark brown or 

 black. 



Sir George Gray and Mr. A. G. Sale have written interesting accounts of this spe- 

 cies, and from that of the latter gentleman we make the following extract: "During 

 the whole time that this bird has been in my possession, it has never shown the 

 slightest sign of ill-temper, but has invariably been good-humored and eager to 

 receive any attention. Its playfulness is remarkable. It will run from a corner of 

 the room, seize my hand with claws and beak, and tumble over and over with it, 

 exactly like a kitten, and then rush back to be invited to a fresh attack. ... It has 

 also, apparently, a strong sense of humor. I have sometimes amused myself by plac- 



