214 
NATURAL HISTORY 
twice that length, ending in sharp points, of a brown or 
dusky colour; the legs and feet black. 
They principally feed on bees, beetles, grasshoppers, 
and other insects. They build in hollow places or ca- 
verns three or four cubits deep, and lay six or seven eggs. 
Pied Flycatcher. {Muscicapa* PI. 35.) This bird’s 
length is nearly five inches; the bill black; eyes hazel; the 
forehead is white; the top of the head, the back, and tail 
are black; the rump is dashed with ash colour; the wing 
coverts are dusky, the greater coverts are tipped with 
white ; the exterior sides of the secondary quills are 
white, as are also the outer feathers of the tail; all the 
under parts, from the bill to the tail, are white; the legs 
are black. The female is much smaller, but longer tailed 
than the male; she is brown where he is black; she like- 
wise wants the white spot on the forehead. 
They build their nests in holes of trees; the parent 
birds incessantly feed their young with small flies, which 
they are very expert in catching. 
Parrot. ( 'Psittacus . PI. 35.) The parrot is the 
best known of all foreign birds, as it unites the most 
beautiful plumage with the greatest docility. Its voice 
also is more like a man’s than any other ; the raven is too 
hoarse, and the jay and magpie too shrill to resemble the 
truth: but the parrot’s note is of the true pitch, and ca- 
pable of a variety of modulations. 
In their native woods these birds live together in flocks, 
and generally breed in hollow trees, where they make a 
round hole for the accommodation of their young; but 
do not take the trouble of lining it within. They lay two 
or three eggs, about the size of those of a pigeon, and 
marked with little specks. The natives are very assidu- 
ous in seeking out their nests, and usually take them by 
cutting down the tree. By this means, indeed, the young 
parrots are liable to be killed; but if one of them survive 
it is considered as a sufficient recompence.— The old 
ones are shot with heavy arrows headed with cotton, 
which knock them down without killing them. 
The facility with which the parrot is taught to speak, 
and the great number of sentences it is capable of re* 
