We have full particulars of their life and habits from Wilson, Audubon, and the Prince von Wied. "The Carolina Parrakeet," says Audubon, "eats or destroys all kinds of fruit, and is on this account most unwelcome to the planter, the countryman, or the gardener. The stacks of corn in the fields are often visited by large flocks, which hide them so completely that they present the appearance of being covered with a brilliantly coloured carpet; the birds hang round the stacks, draw out the straws, and destroy twice as much of the corn as is necessary to satisfy their hunger. They come in crowds to assail the fruit trees in a garden, pluck the fruits, bite them open and take out the soft and milky kernel, proceeding industriously from branch to branch, until the tree that had looked so promising is entirely stripped. It is easy to understand that these attacks upon their property are avenged by the planters, and that regular war is waged against the Parrakeets. Ten or twenty of them often fall at one shot, but the survivors always come back to the same place, so that many hundreds are killed in the course of a few hours." The "Carolina Parrakeet," says Wilson, "is a very sociable creature. Should one of a flock be wounded, the rest instantly return to it, uttering loud anxious cries, as they settle on the nearest tree. After repeated shots they will not alter their behaviour, but come nearer and nearer to the fallen bird, and fly around it with plaintive screams."
It would be hard to find a greater contrast than is noticeable between the rapid flight of the Carolina Parrakeets and their lame, helpless movements when on the branches of trees, and still more when on the ground. They fly in closely-packed masses, rushing along with loud resounding cries, generally in a direct line, sometimes in graceful curves, which they seem often to vary for their own amusement. Their favourite trees are sycamores and plantains, in the hollows of which they find a resting-place, and hang to the bark like woodpeckers, clinging by the beak and claws. They sleep a good deal, retiring many times in the day to their holes to take a nap. They eat salt readily, and for this reason are always to be found in great numbers near salt works. Wilson gives us the following information concerning a Carolina Parrakeet that he tried to keep:—"As I was anxious to learn whether this parrot would allow itself to be easily tamed, I took one under my care that had been slightly wounded in the wing. I prepared for him a kind of bower at the stern of my boat, and threw him burdocks, which he continued to eat from the time he came on board. The first day was pretty equally divided between eating and sleeping, and at times he gnawed the bars of his cage. When I left the river and travelled by land I carried my prisoner with me in a silk handkerchief, disregarding all the difficulties which such an undertaking must involve. The road was bad beyond description; there were dangerous rivers and lakes to swim across, whole miles of morass and thicket to encounter, and other hindrances to overcome; many times the parrot came out of my pocket, and I was compelled to dismount to seek for it amongst the brushwood. When we encamped in forests I placed it on my little bundle near me, and took it up again in the morning, carrying it in this manner more than a thousand miles. As soon as I reached the hunting-ground of the Chickasaws I was surrounded by these people—men, women, and children—who regarded my companion with great astonishment and loud laughter, calling it in their language 'Kelinky;' indeed, Polly was ever after a bond of friendship between us. When I reached my friend Dunbar's house I procured a cage, and placed it in the verandah; from whence my captive used to call to the flights of Parrakeets that sped over the place, and day by day we had numerous troops of them hovering about, keeping up a lively conversation. One whose wing was slightly wounded I placed in Polly's cage, to the great delight of the little solitary, who approached it instantly, and whispered her sympathy at its accident, stroked its neck and head with her beak, and took it to her heart at once. The new comer died, and Polly was for many days inconsolable and restless. I then placed a looking-glass near to the place where she usually sat. My ruse succeeded, her happiness was restored, and for a time she was beside herself with joy. It was quite touching to see her, as evening approached, laying her head on the image in the glass, and testifying her happiness by a gentle note. After some time she learned her name, and answered to it; she would climb up my body, perch on my shoulder, and take bits from my mouth: there is no doubt that I could have succeeded in training her, had not an unlucky accident caused her death; she left her cage one morning before I rose, and was drowned in the Gulf of Mexico."
The Prince von Wied substantiates the preceding account; he found these Parrakeets in the early spring in enormous numbers near the Mississippi, and they have been also seen near the Lower Missouri, but never towards the upper part of that river. The Indians in the neighbourhood of Fort Union wear the skins of these birds as ornaments on their heads.
THE CHOROY.
The Choroy of the Chilians (Enicognathis leptorhynchus) is well deserving of notice, on account of the peculiar shape of its beak. There is nothing particularly striking in the plumage, which is of a nearly uniform dark green, blueish on the wings, their tips being spotted with black; the tail-feathers are brownish, and blood red at the tip. The bird is green above, with a red streak upon the brow, red cheek-stripes, and a few insignificant dark bands on the top of the head, which are visible through the points of the corresponding feathers; the lower part of the body is green, with red spots between the thighs, larger in the male than in the female. Its length is about fourteen inches, six and a half of which belong to the tail. The Choroy reminds us of the Long-beaked Cockatoo, on account of its prominent and elongated upper mandible, and we are told that its habits are similar. These birds congregate in troops of many hundreds, and the noise they make is almost deafening. They are most destructive to maize and wheat fields, and also to apple-trees, the fruit of which they gather only for the sake of the pips. This species is found over large tracts of the Pampas, and is rather a ground than a tree bird.
THE LONG-TAILED PARROTS, OR PARRAKEETS.
The Long-tailed Parrakeets (Palæornithes) inhabit the Old World, and notwithstanding the peculiarities whereby the different families are characterised, bear a common impress. All are distinguished by their very slender shape and pointed tail of the same length as the body, and by their flowing, magnificently-coloured plumage. They are distributed over the whole of Central and Southern Africa, a great part of India and Australia, and in favourable situations are met with in large flocks. The Australian type differs from the Asiatic and African principally in having a comparatively broad tail, and is on that account often referred to another group.
THE COLLARED OR ROSE-RINGED PARROT.