CONURES. 



117 



a more northern range than any other parrot, extending to Iowa, the great 

 Lakes, and New York ; but it is now contined to the States bordering the 

 Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi Valley, and is very local. At one time they 

 were found in enormous flocks, which used to do great damage to the crops, 

 but of late years their numbers have been greatly reduced. Wilson writes 

 that the Carolina conures "are particularly attached to the large sycamores, in 

 the hollows of the trunks and branches of which they generally roost ; thirty 

 or forty, and sometimes more, entering at the same hole. Here they cling 

 close to the sides of the tree, holding just by the claws, and also by the bill. 

 They appear to be fond of sleep, and often retire to their holes during the 

 day, probably to take a regular siesta. They are extremely sociable and fond of 

 each other, often scratching each other's heads and necks, and always at night 

 nestling as close as possible to each other, preferring at that time a perpendicular 

 position, supported by their beak and claw^s." They lay from three to five eggs ; 

 and, if taken young, are readily tamed. The golden conure (C. solstitialis), of 

 Guiana, is golden-yellow, with the exception of parts of the wings which are green 

 and blue. 

 siigM-BiUed The great length and comparative straightness of the upper 



Paxraquet. mandible of the parrot represented in the illustration on the next page, 

 serves to distinguish it at a glance from all its kindred. This bird is the slight- 

 billed parraquet {Henicognathus leptorhynchus), the sole representative of its 

 genus, and restricted to Chili, where it appears to be abundant. It is about 

 15 inches in total length ; and the general colour of its plumage is dull green, 

 becoming somewhat brighter on the top of the head, in which region each feather 

 has a dusky edge. This colour is relieved by dull crimson on the forehead, lores, 

 and round the eyes ; and there is a faint patch of dull red on the abdomen, and 

 some amount of bluish tints on the wings. The iris of the eye is orange, while 

 the beak and feet are lead-colour. These parrots are met w*ith in large flocks ; 

 which may number hundreds or thousands of individuals, and keep up an 

 incessant screaming. For a part of the year they inhabit the forests, but from 

 October to April they make their appearance in the cultivated districts of Valdivia, 

 for the purpose of feeding on the crops. At this season they appear every 

 morning in large flocks flying from the northward, and returning in the evening. 

 With their long beaks they extract the grains of maize and wheat from the 

 growing crops, and also dig up roots of grass, w^hich form their staple food. Indeed, 

 they are more terrestrial than arboreal in their general habits, although they nest 

 in hollow trees. It is but seldom that these parrots are brought alive to Europe. 

 Grey-Breasted The grey-breasted parraquet (Myopsittacus monachus) belongs 



Parraquet. to a group of genera, distinguished from the three preceding ones by 

 the bony ring round the eye being incomplete; this particular genus being, char- 

 acterised by the beak being rather swollen at the sides and rounded above, as 

 well as by the tufted oil-gland, and the concealment of the nostrils by the forward 

 projection of the feathers at the base of the beak. The general colour of this 

 parrot is green, with the upper part of the head, lores, cheeks, throat, and breast 

 grey ; the under-parts yellowish green, and the primary feathers and wing-coverts 

 blue, edged with green on their outer webs. The bill is reddish white, the iris 



