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TROPICAL NATURE 
iii 
into light or deep blue, as in some macaws ; into pure yellow 
or rich orange, as in some of the American macaw-parrots 
(Conurus) ; into purple, gray, or dove-colour, as in some 
American, African, and Indian species ; into the purest crim- 
son, as in some of the lories ; into rosy-white and pure white, 
as in the cockatoos ; and into a deep purple, ashy, or black, 
as in several Papuan, Australian, and Mascarene species. 
There is, in fact, hardly a single distinct and definable colour 
that cannot be fairly matched among the 400 species of 
known parrots. Their habits, too, are such as to bring them 
prominently before the eye. They usually feed in flocks ; 
they are noisy, and so attract attention ; they love gardens, 
orchards, and open sunny places ; they wander about far in 
search of food, and towards sunset return homewards in noisy 
flocks, or in constant pairs. Their forms and motions are 
often beautiful and attractive. The immensely long tails of 
the macaws, and the more slender tails of the Indian parra- 
quets ; the fine crest of the cockatoos; the swift flight of 
many of the smaller species, and the graceful motions of the 
little love-birds and allied forms, together with their affec- 
tionate natures, aptitude for domestication, and powers of 
mimicry — combine to render them at once the most con- 
spicuous and the most attractive of all the specially tropical 
forms of bird-life. 
The number of species of parrots found in the different 
divisions of the tropics is very unequal. Africa is by far the 
poorest; since along with Madagascar and the Mascarene 
islands, which have many peculiar forms, it scarcely numbers 
two dozen species. Asia, along with the Malay islands as far 
as Java and Borneo, is also very poor, with about thirty 
species. Tropical America is very much richer, possessing 
about 140 species, among which are many of the largest and 
most beautiful forms. But of all parts of the globe the 
tropical islands belonging to the Australian region (from 
Celebes eastward), together with the tropical parts of Australia, 
are richest in the parrot tribe, possessing more than 150 species, 
among which are many of the most remarkable and beautiful 
of the entire group. The whole Australian region, whose 
extreme limits may be defined by Celebes, the Marquesas, and 
the New Zealand group, possesses over 200 species of parrots. 
