THE PARROTS. 
143 
other birds, which we regret to say does not appear 
to be an unjust charge; in other respects he certainly 
bears a good character as a quiet and harmless bird, 
rendering good service to the farmer by the daily 
destruction of a great amount of noxious vermin. 
He often visits the orchard and garden, where he 
sometimes builds his nest. Being strictly a summer 
bird, he leaves the Northern and Middle States early 
in the Autumn, for a warmer climate, many passing 
the Winter in Florida. 
The next and last division of the Scansores which 
we have to notice is the Parrots, well known for their 
peculiar form, their singular habits, and the brilliant 
coloring of their plumage. Although many species 
of this group are found in various parts of the globe, 
yet the Equatorial Regions must be considered as the 
favorite resort for by far the greatest number. Here, 
among the wild and majestic forests of towering palms, 
or in the deep and tangled thickets of mimosa, where 
the face of Nature is clothed in perennial verdure, 
these gay-feathered birds make the air resound with 
their loud discordant cries. Each country seems to 
be possessed of varieties or subdivisions of the group 
somewhat peculiar to itself. Thus, from the interior 
of South America we have the splendid Macaws, 
which are generally large birds, over three feet in 
length, of which the tail makes up twenty-four inches, 
and decked in the most glaring hues of scarlet, green, 
blue, and yellow. From India and the adjacent isl- 
ands come the superb Lories, arrayed in their coats 
of fiery red ; while from Australia we welcome the 
