86 CAROLINA PARROT. 



than Cincinnati,, nor is it until you reach the mouth of the Ohio that 

 Parrakeets are met with in considerable numbers. I should think that 

 along the Mississippi there is not now half the number that existed 

 fifteen .years ago." 



There is no doubt that at the present day (1883-4) their flocks are 

 still further reduced, and that one must travel much further south to 

 find these beautiful but, to the farmer, destructive birds. Their strong 

 attachment to their companions leads to their destruction too, as we 

 gather from Wilson's experience. " Having shot down a number ", he 

 says, "some of which were only wounded, the whole flock swept re- 

 peatedly round their prostrate companions, and again settled on a low 

 tree within twenty yards of the spot where I stood. At each suc- 

 cessive discharge, though showers of them fell, yet the affection of 

 the survivors seemed rather to increase, for after a few circuits round 

 the place they again alighted near me, looking down on their slaughtered 

 companions with such manifest symptoms of sympathy and concern as 

 entirely disarmed me." 



"I could not but take notice", continues the same author, "of the 

 remarkable contrast between their elegant manner of flight, and their 

 lame, crawling gait, among the branches. They fly very much like 

 the Wild Pigeon, in close, compact bodies, and with great rapidity, 

 making a loud and outrageous screaming, not unlike that of the 

 Eed-headed Woodpecker. Their flight is sometimes in a straight line, 

 but most usually circuitous, making a great variety of elegant and easy 

 serpentine meanders as if for pleasure. 



"They 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 fast 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 with 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 claws." 



There are, perhaps, few members of the family more susceptible of 

 domestication than the Carolina Parrakeets, providing, that is to say, 

 they have been reared from the nest, or, at least, captured when quite 

 young: adult specimens, however, will breed freely in a large aviary, 

 or bird-room, if provided with suitable nesting accommodation. "A 

 pair", says Dr. Russ, "bred in a small cage in my bird-room, and 

 brought up three, and then five, young ones." 



