PAERAKEETS. 
15 
natives of New Holland the Warrior, is very handsome. Its 
body is deep crimson, and its wings the most lovely blue. It 
is a remarkable bird, as possessing what is vulgarly termed 
a temp&t' ; that is, it will conceive the most cordial friendship 
towards one member of a family, while towards the rest, and 
without the least cause, it will exhibit the most evident dislike, 
screaming, and getting into the most dreadful passion when- 
ever its cage is approached. Mrs. Howitt says “ He has what 
I never heard in others of these birds, a very soft, musical note 
and Mr. Caley further observes “It does not eat any kind of grain, 
even when in a domesticated state (it is a honey eater like its 
neighbour of Moreton Bay). It is much subject to fits, which 
generally prove fatal ; and it is difficult to find an individual 
kept alive above a couple of years. The flesh of this bird is 
very good eating.” 
CHAPTER IY. 
P ARE AKEETS . 
The most anciently known of the parrot family belong to 
this tribe, the member that is known as the Alexandrine 
parrakeet having been, it is said, brought from India or Ceylon by 
Alexander the Great, after whom the bird took its name. In the 
reign of Nero, parrots of various species were introduced into 
Rome from different parts of Africa, and more highly prized 
and elegantly housed even than at the present time. Cages of 
silver and ivory were not thought too splendid for the gorgeous 
birds ; and, as a marketable commodity, the price of a parrot 
exceeded that of an adult slave. 
The Carolina Parrakeet. — This parrot is peculiar to North 
America, and is indeed the only bird of the species found there. 
It is met in the United States as far north as lake Michigan, 
but on the east coast does not extend beyond Maryland. 
Not the least singular fact connected with the Carolina 
parrakeet is, that, being of a family otherwise so exclusively 
confined to the hottest regions of the tropics, it should be 
discovered at such an immense distance from what has been de- 
signated its natural home. That it is not a bird of passage is 
evident, as it has been seen in great flocks on the shores of the 
Ohio as late in the season as February. Y arious attempts have 
