86 Daniel McKinley 



would have seen them there anyway. They later added William Byrd's so- 

 called record (1942:192). They chose to ignore, no doubt wisely, a manu- 

 script note dated 10 January 1925 that C. S. Brimley had filed in the State 

 Museum: "Mr. John Handy Ford of Wilmington told Mr. J. C. Crawford 

 recently that he took the eggs of this species some ten years ago in the 

 swamps near Wilmington." 



THE PARAKEET IN SOUTH CAROLINA: EARLY YEARS 

 References that call the parakeet a "formerly abundant permanent resi- 

 dent" (Bent 1940:3) and "common in the Carolinas up to 1850" (Sprunt 

 and Chamberlain 1949:292) are rather devoid of substantiating details. 

 Elliott Coues, in the first critical list of South Carolina birds, wrote that 

 the species "appears to have been in former times a common bird: but its 

 occurrence has not been noted of late years" (1869:119). But that, except 

 for the negative second part, is also empty. Even Wayne's ambitious orni- 

 thology of the state provided an account that was obscure and lacking in 

 details (1910:10). Bent mentioned the range of the parakeet as formerly 

 including the Pine Barrens and Edding Island (1940:10), but both these 

 attempts to particularize distributions require qualification, as will be 

 shown. 



The story of the parakeet in South Carolina begins modestly enough. 

 "T. A., Gent." (supposedly Thomas Ashe, "Gentleman," a ship's clerk — 

 and not a man named "Gent") included a list of birds in a promotional 

 letter written to a friend, as was done by many early English explorers and 

 exploiters. He described in glowing terms the region of "Charlestown," 

 where he lived, probably about 1680-1682: "Birds the Country yields of 

 differing kinds and Colours: For Prey, the Pelican, Hawk, and Eagle, etc. 

 For Pleasure, the red, copped and blew Bird, which wantonly imitates the 

 various Notes and Sounds of such Birds and Beasts which it hears, where- 

 fore, by way of Allusion, it's call'd the mocking Bird; for which pleasing 

 Property it's there esteem 'd a Rarity. Duck, Mallard, Widgeon, Teal, 

 Curlew, Plover, Partridge, the Flesh of which is equally as good, tho' 

 smaller than ours in England. Pigeons and Parakeittoes. In Winter huge 

 Flights of wild Turkies, oftentimes weighing from twenty, thirty, to forty 

 pound . . . They have a Bird I believe the least in the whole Creation, 

 named the Humming Bird; in bigness the Wren being much Superior . . . 

 they continue between the Tropiques the whole year round . . . but I am 

 informed, that in the more Northern parts of America they sleep the whole 

 Winter" (Salley 1911:151-152). Although the worthy clerk perhaps got 

 painted buntings ("red, copped and blew") confused with mockingbirds 

 and his typesetter put "In Winter" with turkeys instead of parakeets, he 

 ought not to be ridiculed for believing that various small birds hiber- 



