CAROLINA PAROQUET. 
431 
length only hastily aroused to forage at the calls of hunger. 
Indeed, from the swiftness and celerity of their aerial move- 
ments, darting through the gleaming sunshine like so many 
sylvan cherubs decked in green and gold, it is obvious that 
their actions as well as their manners are not calculated for 
any long endurance ; and shy and retiring from all society but 
that to which they are inseparably wedded, they rove abroad 
with incessant activity until their wants are gratified, when, hid 
from sight, they again relapse into that indolence which seems 
a relief to their exertions. 
The Carolina Parrot is readily tamed, and early shows an 
attachment to those around who bestow any attention on its 
wants ; it soon learns to recollect its name and to answer and 
come when called on. It does not, however, evince much, if 
any, capacity for mimicking human speech or sounds of any 
kind, and as a domestic is very peaceable and rather taciturn. 
It is extremely fond of nuts and almonds, and may be sup- 
ported on the vegetable food usually given to other species. 
One which I saw at Tuscaloosa, a week after being disabled in 
the wing, seemed perfectly reconciled to its domestic condi- 
tion ; and as the weather was rather cold, it remained the 
greater part of the time in the house, climbing up the sides of 
the wire fender to enjoy the warmth of the fire. I was in- 
formed that when first caught it scaled the side of the room 
at night, and rocsted in a hanging posture by the bill and 
claws ; but finding the labor difficult and fruitless, having no 
companion near which to nestle, it soon submitted to pass the 
night on the back of a chair. 
I fear that the story of this gorgeously apparalled bird is nearly 
finished. It is not quite exterminated yet, but of the large flocks 
that were once to be seen all over the Southern States, only a mere 
remnant can be found, and these are hidden amid the dense 
swamps of central Florida and along the lower valley of the Mis- 
sissippi. The farmers and fruit-growers were obliged to kill large 
numbers, and later woman’s vanity and man’s greed have joined 
hands to carry on the slaughter. From the combined attack of 
such foes the remnant has but slight chance for escape. 
