THE CAROLINA PARROT. 



U7 



peckers, as far as these can be filled by them. At 

 dusk, the flock of Parrakeets may be seen alighting 

 against the trunk of a large sycamore, or any other 

 tree, when a considerable excavation exists within 

 it. Immediately below the entrance, the birds all 

 cling to the bark, and crawl into the hole to pass 

 the night. When such a hole does not prove suffi- 

 cient to hold the whole flock, those around the 

 entrance hook themselves on by their claws, and 

 the tip of the upper mandible, and look as if hanging 

 by the bill. I have frequently seen them in such 

 positions by means of a glass, and am satisfied that 

 the bill is not the only support used in such cases.'* 

 These beautiful birds are rapidly diminishing in 

 number in the United States, and in many places 

 where they were once abundant, they are now rarely 

 to be met with. 



