THE BIRD OF PARADISE. 
11 
where it is always cool and shady. They give 
over screaming and chattering, and settle them- 
selves on the boughs for a nap. And then, 
the silence is so deep you might hear a leaf 
drop to the ground, although the trees overhead 
are crowded with parrots. 
But the stillness only lasts through the noon- 
tide heat. In the evening the parrots wake up, 
and make as much noise as ever. They sup, 
as they breakfasted, upon the kernels of the 
fruits, and then go to the water to bathe. Again 
follows the business of dressing and pluming 
their feathers, and after this they go to rest. 
But they do not roost in the branches, where 
they took their afternoon's nap ; their sleep- 
ing-room is a hollow tree, scooped out by the 
woodpecker. As many parrots get in as the 
hollow will contain, and the rest hook them- 
selves to the bark, by their claws and bills, 
and hang there through the night. 
The parrot lays her eggs in these hollow 
trees. She does not make a nest, but lays 
them on the rotten wood ; and the whole flock 
lay their eggs together in the same tree. 
The beautiful woods of the Spice Islands 
are fragrant with all manner of delicious scents. 
