THE PAEItOT TBIBE 
{Fstiac'foj-^tes) 
The Order of Parrots, of which most readers will be sur- 
prised to hear that well over 500 species are known* seems to be 
related to the hawks and owls. Although found in many 
parts of the world parrots are most numerous in the tropics* 
They are usually met witli in flocks and their food consists 
largely of fruits and seeds. Many species are most brilliantly 
coloured and on this account as well as the marked ability of 
a few to imitate the human voice they are very favourite cage 
birds. Large numbers are yearly imported into Singapore 
from Celebes, the Moluccas and Australia and dozens of highly 
coloured birds of a good many different species may usually 
be seen in the bird-shops of the town. The parrot tribe may 
be conveniently divided into two families : the first includes the 
true parrots with a fleshy tongue while the second family con- 
tains the lories or brush-tongued parrots. All our Malayan 
species, numbering only five of which but three are known 
from Singapore, belong to the division of true parrots but 
many of the ga«dy imported cage birds to be seen in the 
Rochore Road shops are lories. 
All parrots lay white eggs. When the young bird is newly 
hatched it is quite naked but later acquires a covering of thick 
down feathers. 
The large white, sulphur-crested cockatoos which are at 
times seen on the outskirts of Singapore particularly in the 
t^ll^ clumps of trees at Sepoy Lines are birds escaped from 
captivity, *- . ^ 
[m] 
