PARAKEETS 233 



towering rocks beyond it. The grand and varied forms of the 



mountains all around this plain filled me with an exultant kind 



of delight. To the south were a crowd of mountain-tops, peak 



beyond peak, with the greatest variety of outline : one had 



the appearance of a colossal truncated spire ; another had a 



jagged saw-like ridge, another was like a pyramid with huge 



steps, and another was like an enormous dome ; but the 



'varieties were endless, and, as I passed along, the combinations 



/> of the giant masses of bare rock changed every minute. Their 



- safari - .anaf.TjaMT... .,. . A --- ------ j. ____ 



and the changing 



effects of sunlight and cloud shadow couTcl only have been 

 caught by the rapid use of a camera. The summits of many of 

 the peaks must be at least three thousand feet above the plain. 

 These "everlasting hills," these "strong foundations of the 

 earth," recalled passages in the Psalms and the Prophets, 

 speaking of Him whose " righteousness is like the great moun- 

 tains." 



At my little village congregation this afternoon, many of the 

 girls and women wore a dldllgjoniament STispffl(jfid ffrflnflj ft*" 1 

 necks.; this was formed of the end ofaconus shell ground down 

 and generally with ^^f>(j_j|gg^jMr^^AnAnfw> This kind of 

 decoration, called ftlana, is aisI^worcMSy men among the 

 Sakalava, but on the side of their temples, and by the Bara 

 people on the crown of their heads. 



Until taking this journey I had not seen in any number the 

 pretty little parakeet of which Madagascar possesses a peculiar 

 species (Psittacula madagascariensis). But we noticed a large 

 flock of these birds one day ; and their light green plumage, 

 with whitish breasts and greyish-white heads, render them 

 rather conspicuous. They go in large flocks, often as many as 

 a hundred together, and sometimes do considerable damage to 

 the rice crops. The two sexes of this parakeet show great 

 affection for each other, the pair sitting close together on their 

 perch, from which habit they are often called love-birds. 



Two species of parrot are among the denizens of the Malagasy 

 woods almost all over the country. These parrots are both of 

 sober plumage, one being dark grey in colour, and the other 

 slaty-black. But they are both intelligent birds, and can easily 

 be taught to speak a few words and to whistle a tune. T ne i r 

 long whistling cry, as if going up the gamut, may be frequently 



