384 



PSITTACUS. PARROT. 



Generic Character. 



nostrum aduncum, mandi- 

 bula superiore mobili, 

 plerisque cera instructa. 



Nares in rostri basi. 



Lingua plerisque carnosa, 



obtusa, Integra. 

 Pedes scansorii. 



Bill hooked, with the upper 

 mandible moveable, and 

 generally furnished with 

 a cere. 



Nostrils in the base of the 

 bill. 



Tongue, in most species, 



fleshy, obtuse, entire. 

 Feet scansorial. 



-I HIS most numerous and splendid genus is 

 chiefly confined to the warmer regions of the an- 

 cient and new continent, or within the limits of 

 the tropics, none being natives of Europe. Some 

 few however are found in latitudes far beyond 

 what was supposed by Buffon, and even as far as 

 forty or forty-five degrees on each side the equator. 

 They may be considered, in the Linna^an phrase, 

 as the Monkeys of Birds, being remarkable for 

 their active and imitative disposition. From the 

 peculiar form of their tongue, which in most species 

 is thick, flattish, rounded, and fleshy, they are 

 often enabled to articulate with greater distinct- 

 ness than other birds : the upper mandible is 



