PARROTS. 



355 



often completely hidden by feathers, the upper toothed or entire. The cere is small, 

 frequently feathered to the nostrils, and more or less wrinkled ; the tail is long, 

 usually exceeding the pointed wings in length. All of the sixty-six species inhabit the 

 eastern hemisphere, Australia forming the centre of their distribution. They are 

 strong fliers, and live largely on the seeds of various grasses and other plants. They 

 are not stationary, but move from place to place according to the abundance or 

 scarcity of their favorite food. They place their nests in hollow gum-trees and 



FIG. 160. Aficroglossus aterrimus, black, or arara cockatoo. 



Euphorbias. They are usually brilliantly colored, the two sexes differing in their 

 ornamentation, and the female being smaller than the male. The young are usually 

 colored like the female. 



The three genera, Melopsittacus^ Callipsittacus, and Nanodes, are Australian, and 

 each contains but a single species. The zebra grass-parakeet, M. undulatus, is about 

 seven inches long, yellowish green, with fine dark undulating lines on the head and 

 neck, a patch of blue on the cheek, the upper parts brownish green, beneath grass- 



