386 
THE CAROLINA PARROT. 
nor so wary as the preceding species. Taking advantage of the labors of mankind, it makes 
raids on the maize and corn fields, and does very great damage in a very short time, for its 
appetite is voracious, and its beak powerful. Like most birds of similar character, it never 
ventures upon one of these predatory excursions without placing a sentinel on some elevated 
post where he can see the whole of the surrounding country, and give the alarm to his com- 
rades whenever he fears the approach of danger. So great is the destruction wrought by these 
birds, that the agriculturists are forced to protect their property by keeping a watch day and 
night over their corn-fields, from the time when the grain begins to ripen to the day when it is 
cut and carried. 
During the rainy season these Macaws leave the country, and do not return until January 
or February. 
The plumage of the Blue and Yellow Macaw is rather roughly set on the body, and is 
thus colored : The forehead is green, and the whole of the upper surface ; the wings and tail 
are bright, rich blue of a verditer cast. The cheeks are white and nearly naked, and below the 
eye are three delicate semilunar streaks of black. Below the chin is a broad, black band, 
which sweeps round towards the ears, and runs round nearly the whole of the white space. 
The throat, head, and abdomen are rich, golden yellow, and the under surfaces of the wings 
and tail are also yellow, but of a more ochreous cast. The bill is deep black, the eye yellowish- 
white, and the legs and feet blackish-gray. 
The entire length of this bird is about forty inches, of which the tail alone occupies nearly 
two feet. It is not, however, the largest species of Macaw, as the Bed and Blue Macaw equals 
it in size. 
Another species of Macaw is found in the more northern portions of America, though 
it is popularly called a Parrot, and not a Macaw. This is the well-known Carolina 
Parrot, of which so much has been written by Wilson, Audubon, and other American orni- 
thologists. 
This bird is much more hardy than the generality of the Parrot tribe, and has been noticed 
by Wilson in the month of February flying along the banks of the Ohio in the midst of a snow 
storm, and in full cry. It inhabits, according to Wilson, “the interior of Louisiana, and the 
shores of Mississippi and Ohio and their tributary waters, even beyond the Illinois river, to 
the neighborhood of Lake Michigan in latitude 42° N., and contrary to the generally received 
opinion, is chiefly resident in all these places. Eastward, however, of the great range of the 
Alleghany, it is seldom seen farther north than the State of Maryland ; though straggling 
parties have been occasionally observed among the valleys of the Juniata, and according to 
some, even twenty-five miles to the northwest of Albany, in the State of Yew York.” These 
accidental visits are, however, rightly regarded by our author as of little value. 
The Carolina Parrot is chiefly found in those parts of the country which abound most in 
rich alluvial soils, on which grow the cockle-burs, so dear to the Parrot and so hated by the 
farmer. In the destruction of this plant the Carolina Parrot does good service to the sheep- 
owner, for the prickly fruit is apt to come off upon the wool of the sheep, and in some places 
so abundantly as to cover it with one dense mass of burs, through which the wool is hardly 
perceptible. The prickly hooks of the burs also break away from the fruit, and intermingle 
themselves so thoroughly with the fleece that it is often rendered worthless, the trouble of 
cleansing it costing more than the value of the wool. 
Besides the cockle-burs, the beech-nut and the seeds of the cypress and other trees are 
favorite food of the Carolina Parrot, which is said to eat apples, but probably only bites 
them off their stems for wantonness, as it drops them to the ground and there lets them lie 
undisturbed. 
An idea was and may be still prevalent in its native country, that the brains and intestines 
of the Carolina Parrot were fatal to cats ; and Wilson, after some trouble, succeeded in getting 
a cat and her kittens to feed upon this supposed poisonous diet. The three ate everything 
excepting the hard bill, and were none the worse for their meal. As, however, the Par rot was in 
this case a tame one, and had been fed upon Indian com, he conjectured that the wild Parrot 
