556 



CLASS AVES. 



Morocco, as far as Egypt, that is, the entire chain of Atlas, 

 and the northern reverse of that chain, are destitute of them. 

 There are some in Madagascar ; but none in the Canary 

 Islands. 



In Asia, parrots are found only in the countries to the 

 south and east of the table-land of Thibet — that is, in Hin- 

 dostan and its dependent islands, in Cochinchina, in China, 

 and in the eastern archipelago. There the handsomest and 

 largest species, and those most remarkable for their forms, 

 are in abundance. 



In Polynesia this genus is considerably extended. New 

 Holland has species peculiar to itself. These birds are also 

 numerous in New Zealand, the Macquarrie Islands, and in 

 the groups of the Friendly and Society Islands. The habitat 

 of the cockatoos is limited to the Indian archipelago, to New 

 Holland, to New Zealand, and the Macquarrie Islands. The 

 lories are peculiar to the Philippines, and New Guinea, and 

 the psittaculi, with the tongue terminated by a pencil of 

 cartilaginous filaments, belong to the countries which extend 

 from New Holland to the Friendly Islands. Two species 

 only of this genus are known in the Sandwich Islands. 



Europe, all the northern and central regions of Asia, the 

 polar countries, Greenland, Iceland, thenorthern and temperate 

 parts of America, Kerguelin's Land, and the South Shetlands, 

 are almost the only portions of the globe in which the genus, 

 or rather family, of the parrots has no representatives. 



The ancients were acquainted with several parrots, among 

 which the most celebrated was that sent from India, by Alex- 

 ander, in the course of his expedition to that country. Mr. 

 Vigors, who has written on a group of psittacidse kno^vn to 

 the ancients, and has treated this subject with his accustomed 

 elegance of style, methodical discrimination, and profound 

 classical research, tells us, that " the ancient writers are unani- 

 mous in informing us, that the parrots known to their times 



