39 



UTILITARIAN ZOOLOGY 



career of geographical discovery which has since proceeded un- 

 interruptedly. This immediately brought with it the knowledge 

 of many more forms of these birds than had ever before been 

 seen, for whatever races of men were visited by European navi- 

 gators whether in the East Indies or the West, whether in 

 Africa or the islands of the Pacific it was almost invariably 

 found that even the most savage tribes had tamed some kind 



Fig. 1275. Macaw (Ara) 



of parrot; and, moreover, experience soon showed that no bird 

 was more easily kept alive on board ship and brought home, 

 while, if it had not the merit of ' speech ', it was almost certain 

 to be of beautiful plumage." 



One of the prettiest pets among these birds is the Grass- 

 Parakeet or Budgerigar (Melopsittaciis undulat^ls} of Australia. 

 Yellow, green, and black are the chief components of the colour 

 scheme, but the two central tail-quills are blue, and there is a 

 patch of the same hue on either side of the face. 



The affectionate little Love -Birds are deservedly popular. 



