PARROTS THE BOAT-BILL HERON. 7^5 



their projecting lower mandible, to plough up small fish, which 

 they retain in the lower half of their scissor-like bills. Each bird 

 thus leaves its wake on the mirror-like surface. On quitting 

 the water their flight is wild, irregular, and rapid. They 

 then utter loud, harsh cries ; their tails, as they fly, are much 

 used in steering their irregular course. 



During the day they may generally be seen resting in flocks 

 on the grassy plains, at some distance from the water, as they 

 usually take to fishing at night, 



PARROTS. 



A small green parrot, with a gray breast, frequents the 

 1 tanks of the Parana. It builds on the higher branches of the 

 taller trees. 



These birds fly in large flocks, and commit great ravages on 

 the corn-fields. 



THE BOAT-BILL HERON. 



In the same localities the curious boat-bill heron is found, 

 — its short thick neck and enormous beak giving it a clumsy, 

 ungainly look alongside the elegant flamingo. The beak may 

 be likened to two boats, laid one upon the other, gunwale to 

 gunwale, the upper part of the mandible representing the keel. 

 It feeds on the Crustacea which it picks up on the shore, as 

 well as on fish — on which it pounces, as they swim by, from 

 some branch overhanging the water. 



It is about the size of a duck, its legs being shorter, in pro- 

 portion to its body, than those of waders in general. On the 

 top of its head the male has a full, long plume of black feathers 

 drooping over the back. The neck and breast are of a grayish- 

 white. The back also is gray, with a wash of rusty -red ; while 



