106 



THE CAROLINA PARROT. 



several hundred miles : from all which circum- 

 stances, I think we cannot, from the residence of 

 these birds, establish with propriety any correct 

 standard by which to judge of the comparative 

 temperatures of different climates. 



" In descending the river Ohio, by myself, in the 

 month of February, I met with the first flock of 

 Parrakeets, at the mouth of the Little Sioto. I had 

 been informed, by an old and respectable inhabitant 

 of Marietta, that they were sometimes, though 

 rarely, seen there. I observed flocks of them, after- 

 wards, at the mouth of the Great and Little Miami, 

 and in the neighbourhood of numerous creeks that 

 discharge themselves into the Ohio. At Big Bone 

 lick, thirty miles above the mouth of Kentucky 

 river, I saw them in great numbers. They came 

 screaming through the woods in the morning, about 

 an hour after sunrise, to drink the salt water, of 

 which they, as well as the Pigeons, are remarkably 

 fond. When they alighted on the ground, it 

 appeared at a distance as if covered with a carpet 

 of the richest green, orange, and yellow : they 

 afterwards settled, in one body, on a neighbouring 

 tree, which stood detached from any other, covering 

 almost every twig of it, and the sun, shining 

 strongly on their gay and glossy plumage, produced 

 a very beautiful and splendid appearance. Here I 

 had an opportunity of observing some very parti- 

 cular traits of their character : having shot down a 

 number, some of which were only wounded, the 

 whole flock swept repeatedly around their prostrate 



