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- 

 ofators — 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. T275.— Maciw [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 iyMclopsittacits iindulatiis) 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. 



