138 BIRDS OF THE WORLD 



and the bare skin around the eyes is red and finely 

 wrinkled. 



One of the most remarkable of the Parrot tribe is 

 the Kakapo, or Owl-Parrot, found only in the interior 

 of New Zealand. It is one of the ground-living spe- 

 cies and is unable to fly, except for very short dis- 

 tances, although having fully developed wings. The 

 colour, in general, is dark greenish. It is nocturnal 

 in habits, hiding during the day and coming out at 

 dusk to feed on grass-seeds, fruits, and so on. Its re- 

 semblance to the Owl in form and habits has given it 

 its common name. 



The Little Budgerigar, or Grass Parrakeet, is an- 

 other of the Australian birds, rather more of a ground- 

 feeder than most Parrots. It is an extremely common 

 cage-bird, living and breeding readily in confinement. 

 Its plumage is in general dark green, varied in the 

 different species with patches and mottlings of brown, 

 blue and yellow. The flight of this bird is strong and 

 rapid, and while on the wing it is extremely noisy. 

 See Plate 8, Fig. 38. 



The Helmet, or Ganga, Cockatoo, found in Aus- 

 tralia, is the only representative of its family. The 

 crest of the male, which covers the entire head, is 

 red, the rest of the plumage a greyish colour. See 

 Plate 8, Fig. 36. 



Cuckoos 



The Cuckoos are generally regarded as relatives of 

 the Parrots, but rather on account of anatomical char- 

 acters than likeness in external form. The only re- 

 spect, indeed, in which these two groups resemble one 



