300 
THE SAVAGE WORLD. 
by Europeans to possess tbe power of speech. It is specially numerous in 
India in both a free and captive state, and in the former at times becomes a great 
pest to agriculturists, whole fields of grain being sometimes settled upon by 
enormous flocks and entirely destroyed. The color is green and black, with a 
ring of black extending from the lower jaw back and over the neck. The tail 
is very long and of a yellowish hue. 
Blue-crowned Parrot (Coryllis galgulus) is a small species found in con¬ 
siderable numbers in the Malay peninsula. They have iinperfectly developed 
wings, and therefore spend much of their time on the ground, or hopping from 
limb to limb. The most singular characteristic is its bat-like propensity for 
hanging head downward when sleeping, and often when eating, this position 
appearing a most natural one to them. The prevailing color is green, with a 
crown of light blue. 
The Owl Parrot ( Stringops habroptilus) , also called Kakapo, is a singular 
creature, combiuing, as it does, the features of both owl and parrot. It is found 
principally in New Zealand and Australia, but was not brought to the attention 
of naturalists until 1845. The h ea d, especially about the eyes, is peculiarly 
owl-like, and its habits largely nocturnal. The wings are small, so that its 
OWL PARROT. BLUE-HEADED LORIS {LoricilluS galgulus). 
flight is restricted to short distances, and most of its time is spent upon the 
ground. The color is generally green, with longitudinal dashes of yellow and 
cross-bars of black. About the eyes are discs of radiating feathers of yellowish 
brown. It burrows in the ground, but builds its nest on the surface or under 
shelving rocks, and deposits, like all the parrot family, but two eggs. In cap¬ 
tivity it shows a kindly disposition and all the playfulness of a young kitten. 
But four species are known, and these will no doubt soon become extinct, their 
numbers now being few, and constantly diminishing through the depredations 
upon them of dogs, cats and rats. 
The Loris constitute a family called trichoglossidce (hair-tongued), from the 
papillae on the tongue, which resemble thin hairs. They are in all other 
respects like the parrot, except that they do not climb by the use of feet and 
bill as do all others of the genera. Usually the tail is broad, but covered 
by the projecting wing, but in some species, like the Papuan Lory ( Charmo- 
syna papua ), the tail feathers are extremely long. The colors of this bird are 
remarkably rich, being a deep scarlet flecked with azure, golden yellow and 
pea-green, while the bill is orange-red. The length is about eighteen inches, 
of which the tail constitutes two-thirds. 
