The Parrot Birds 
they use like hands. The first and fourth toes ex- 
tend backwards, the second and third forwards, and 
thus afford the bird a strong grasp on twigs and 
limbs. The body is always rather stout, the neck 
short and the head large. The upper half of the 
beak is strong and curved, the lower half scoop-shape, 
and the tongue cylindrical. In all except one genus 
there are twelve tail-feathers. At the base of the beak 
where the nostrils open, there is a swollen area, which 
may be feathered. In the tropical portions of our own 
continent are found the sharp-tailed parrots, which 
have the long tail feathers tapering to a point. In 
Brazil and Paraguay are found the splendid macaws, 
brilliant blue, yellow, green and red, some of them 
quite thirty inches in length. In these same forests 
are found the little parrakeets, or American love- 
birds, usually less than five inches in length, and 
green and blue in color. In tropical America there 
also occur the blunt-tailed parrots, which are med- 
ium size, with green plumage, and very good talkers. 
Humboldt found one of these birds talking the lan- 
guage of an Indian tribe which had become extinct. 
Strangely enough, there is a genus of the blunt- 
tailed parrots that live in the Sahara desert. In 
north Africa, too, is found the gray parrot with the 
red tail, which is the favorite pet, because it excels 
in conversation. 
In Africa dwell the true parrakeets, those that 
have the two central tail-feathers very narrow and 
long, forming the point of the long graduated tail. 
The parrakeets extend out through Mauritius, Cey- 
lon, India, and the East India Islands. The rose- 
ringed parrakeet is found in Africa, and especially in 
India; it has a body only seven inches long, and a 
tail which measures ten inches. Its plumage is soft 
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