Chapter 64

SUB-ORDER I.—ZYGODACTYLÆ.

FAMILY I.—THE PARROTS (Psittaci).

Just as the Monkeys have been placed at the head of the Mammalia on account of their high development, so the Parrots, from their general cleverness, and especially on account of the facility with which they can talk, have been considered the highest order of birds, and placed at the beginning of the class. It is impossible for some people to avoid the conclusion that these birds think and reason, and theà proposor sometimesmal à proposway in which they introduce speeches, coupled with the look of wisdom which they assume while being spoken to, seems to show that the brain is being employed in thinking. A friend in Manchester told the writer of a parrot-show in the North of England, where the talking powers of each bird were made the subject of a prize competition. Several of the birds had exhibited their prowess, and at last the cover was removed from the cage of a Grey Parrot, who at once exclaimed, on seeing the company to which he was suddenly introduced, “By Jove! what a lot of Parrots!” an observation which gained him the prize at once. Instances of famous talking birds might be multiplied by the hundred, and it is wonderful to read some of the stories which have been related of Parrots, whose fame has been recorded in many popular works, leaving no doubt that these birds often possess the power of reason of a very high order; at the same time, it must be confessed that many of the Corvine birds, such as Ravens, Jackdaws, and Magpies, do not fall far short of their Scansorial friends.

The Parrots are divided into two large sections, firstly the Parrots proper (Psittaci proprii), and secondly the straight-billed Parrots (Psittaci orthognathi[234]). These two sections together contain six families, of which five belong to the first and one to the second. The true Parrots have a powerful and swollen bill, especially as regards the lower mandible, which is much inflated, curved, and flattened in front, the cutting edges (tomium) indented just behind their tip. The sub-family which has to be noticed first are theCamptolophinæ[235]or Cockatoos, which are birds entirely of the Australianregion, being confined to Australia and the Molucca Islands. The bill is higher than it is broad, with a very distinct indentation of each side of the cutting edge of the mandible, the tip of the bill short, rather strong and perpendicular, the head crested in all except the Pygmy Parrots (Nasiterna). This family contains at once the largest and the smallest of the Parrots.

THE GREAT PALM COCKATOO (Microglossus[236]aterrimus[237]).

This is one of the most powerful of all the Parrot tribe, measuring about twenty-four inches in length, and having a bill of unusual thickness and power. Its black plumage also renders it a conspicuous species, the only relief to this sombre colouring being the greyish crest and the dull crimson cheeks. Its home is New Guinea, but it is also found in the Cape York Peninsula in Australia, where it was discovered by John Macgillivray during the voyage of theRattlesnake. He writes as follows respecting it:—“This very fine bird, which is not uncommon in the vicinity of Cape York, was usually found in the densest scrub among the tops of the tallest trees, but was occasionally seen in the open forest land perched on the largest of theEucalypti, apparently resting on its passage from one belt of trees or patch of scrub to another. Like the Black Cockatoos, orCalyptorhynchi, it flies slowly and usually but a short distance. In November, 1849, the period of our last visit to Cape York, it was always found in pairs, very shy, and difficult of approach. Its cry is merely a low short whistle of a single note, which may be represented by the letters ‘Hweet-Hweet.’ The stomach of the first one killed contained a few small pieces of quartz and triturated fragments of palm-cabbage, with which the crop of another specimen was completely filled; and the idea immediately suggests itself, that the powerful bill of this bird is a most fitting instrument for stripping off the leaves near the summits of theSeaforthia elegansand other palms to enable it to arrive at the central tender shoot.”

THE PYGMY PARROTS (Nasiternæ).

These Parrots are represented by seven little manikins which are found in New Guinea and the adjacent islands, each particular island possessing its own peculiar species. Not one of these little birds exceeds a Sparrow in size, the largest being a little over three inches and a half in length. Owing to their small size and the resemblance of the green colouring to the forests they inhabit, they are not easily seen, and until recent years were very hard to procure. In the island of Mafoor in the Bay of Geelvink, N.W., New Guinea, Baron von Rosenberg says that he found it common near Roemsaro, and several specimens, both alive and dead, were brought to him by the natives. They bred there in January and February, nesting in hollow trees and laying two eggs, the size of those of the English Bottle Titmouse. Their food consists of fruit.

THE AMAZON PARROTS (Androglossinæ).[238]

This, the second sub-family, consists of the true Parrots, of which the ordinary Grey Parrot (Psittacus erythacus) is the type. It also includes all the Green Parrots of America, which are called Amazons, as well as the Lories (Eclectus) and Love-birds (Agapornis). The head is moderately smooth, without any highly-developed crest, as in the Cockatoos, and the tail is short, or of only moderate length. The tail-feathers are generally broad and obtuse, in a few widening at the tip, or sharp at the end. In the genusPrioniturus, which inhabits the Philippine Islands, and some of the Moluccas, the two centre feathers have the shafts produced, and ending in a small spatule, or racket.

THE AMAZONS (Chrysotis).[239]

AMAZON PARROT.

These Parrots are entirely American, and are the only birds of the New World which can compete in talking powers with the African Grey Parrots, who, however, far surpass their American relatives. About thirty species of Amazon are known, all of them confined within the limits of the Neotropical region, which comprises the whole of Central and Southern America, south of an imaginary line drawn through Northern Mexico. The West India islands are also included in this area, and most of themare inhabited by a species of Amazon. The habits of all these Parrots seem to be very similar, and a good account of the Active Amazon of Jamaica (Chrysotis agilis) is given by Mr. Gosse[240]:—“All the Parrots are gregarious, cunning, watchful, noisy, mischievous; and thus are like the Monkeys. This and the Yellow-billed Parrot [Mr. Gosse’s name forC. agilisis the Black-billed Parrot] are so much alike in manners and general appearance, that a description of one applies nearly to the other. Flocks varying from half a dozen to twenty or thirty fly hither and thither over the forest, screeching as they go, and all alight together on some tree covered with berries. Here they feast, but with caution. On a slight alarm one screams, and the whole flock is on the wing, vociferous if not musical, and brilliant if not beautiful, particularly when the sun shines on their green backs and crimsoned wings. They generally prefer lofty trees, except when, in June, the ripe yellow plantain tempts them to descend, or when the blackberry shines upon the pimento. Of the latter the flocks devour an immense quantity, and the former they destroy by cutting it to pieces with their powerful beaks, to get at the small seeds. One day in January, when the pimento on the brow of Bluefields Mountain was about ready for picking, being full-sized, but yet green and hard, I observed large flocks of Black-bills, and a few Parrakeets, flying to and fro with voluble chatter, now alighting to feed on the hot, aromatic berry, now flying off, and wheeling round to the same neighbourhood again. They were not at all shy, but, with unusual carelessness of one’s proximity, scarcely moved at the report of the gun which brought their companions to the ground. Of two which I shot on this occasion, I found the craws stuffed with the cotyledons of the seed alone, the most pungently aromatic part of the berry; the fleshy part having been, as I presume, shorn off by the beak and rejected. When alighted, as is often the case, on a dry branch, their emerald hue is conspicuous, and affords a fair mark for the gunner; but in a tree of full foliage, their colour proves an excellent concealment. They seem aware of this, and their sagacity prompts them to rely on it for security. Often we hear their voices proceeding from a certain tree, or else have marked the descent of a flock upon it, but on proceeding to the spot, though the eye has not wandered from it, and we are therefore sure that they are there, we cannot discover an individual.We go close to the tree, but all is silent, and still as death; we institute a careful survey of every part with the eye, to detect the slightest motion, or the form of a bird among the leaves, but in vain; we begin to think that they have stolen off unperceived, but on throwing a stone into the tree, a dozen throats burst forth into cry, and as many green birds rush forth upon the wing. The screaming of this and the following species differs from that of the Parrakeet, so far as to be easily distinguished. That of the latter consists of a series of harsh screeches, of comparative length; that of the Parrots is less shrill, more broken into short and rapid articulations, forming a series of varying length, separated by momentary pauses. It is, in fact, much more like a hurried chattering.”

THE GREY PARROT (Psittacus erythacus).

This familiar cage-bird is a native of Africa, and it would appear to have been a favourite in England for a longer period than can be traced. They were held in great estimation at the court of the “Merry Monarch” Charles II., for his Queen Catharine of Braganza had a parrot-keeper, at a salary of £36 per annum, while the maids of honour received only £10 a year each, and the “mother of the maids” £20 per annum. Therefore, the custodian of the Parrots was better paid by £16 than the lady who held the very responsible post of care-taker of the maids of honour.[241]A Grey Parrot which lived for forty years with the Duchess of Richmond and Lennox, who died in 1702, and who was a celebrated beauty at the court of Charles II., is preserved in Westminster Abbey along with the effigy of that lady, having survived its mistress only a few days.

It is strange that for a bird which has so long been one of the chief pets in Europe, so little is known of its habits in a wild state, and at the present time not a single authentic egg of this species, taken in its native haunts, is known to exist. Occasionally it lays in confinement a white egg, like other Picarian birds, but it is probably from the care with which the species selects its breeding-place that it has been so difficult to find their nest and eggs. The only naturalist who appears to have discovered the latter appears to be the celebrated natural history artist, Mr. Keulemans, who spent nearly two years in West Africa, and has written the best account of the Grey Parrot in a state of nature,[242]as observed by him on Ilha do Principe, or Prince’s Island, in the Bight of Biafra. Here it is very common, and breeds in the month of December in the very thickest forests. Only one pair breed in each tree, laying five eggs in a hole thereof, but a large number nest in close proximity to each other, many hundreds breeding in the same area, according to the above-named author. Both parents take a share in the rearing of the young birds, sitting by turns, the one who is thus relieved bringing food to its mate and feeding it out of its crop, which method is also adopted in the care of the young birds. The food of the Grey Parrot is stated to consist of palm-nuts, the arocat (Laurus persea), the banana (Musa paradisea), goyare, mango, and many other fruits of a smaller size; but it always gives the preference to palm-nuts. On Prince’s Island, writes Mr. Keulemans, there is “a very lofty mountain, reaching some 1,200 feet above the level of the sea, and called by the natives ‘Pico de Papagaio,’ or Peak of the Parrots. On the slope of this mountain, and extending far up its side, is a magnificent forest. The trees are of great size and height, and their trunks and branches give support to the lianas and other climbing plants, which hang about them in luxurious folds. The density of the forest is so great that it is only with the greatest difficulty and toil that the explorer can force his way through it; while to the Parrots who come up there every night it presents no obstacle, but gives them, under the shelter of its thick foliage, a secure and pleasant resting-place.”

Another observer in West Africa, Dr. Reichenow, found the Grey Parrot breeding in West Africa in the low-lands along the streams and groves of mangrove, and the great difficulty of traversing these swamps is, according to him, the reason why their breeding habits are not better known. They are very destructive to the crops of Indian corn, which they visit in large flocks, wasting as much as they consume. They proceed to roost in flocks, selecting the same route each night; and Governor Ussher says that, whilst up the river Addo, near Lagos, he has seen them crossing at sunset from their feeding-grounds to their roosting-places, when they presented the appearance of one continuous flock passing at a great distance overhead, their screams and chattering being heard long after darkness hasset in. They are said by some travellers to be very good eating, but by others to be only good for soup.

GREAT MACAWS.⇒LARGER IMAGE

GREAT MACAWS.

⇒LARGER IMAGE

The Grey Parrot in his native haunts is an unsociable bird, and a curious story is told by Dr. Dohrn, and confirmed by Mr. Keulemans, respecting the species in Prince’s Island. As has already been stated, the Parrots are extremely common there, but not a single Kite is met with on the island. On the neighbouring island of St. Thomas there is an abundance of Black Kites but not a single Parrot, between whom and the Kites a constant warfare is waged, so that, should one of the latter get driven over to Prince’s Island he is almost immediately set upon by the Parrots and slaughtered; and the compliment is returned if a Parrot is so unfortunate as to land uninvited on St. Thomas’s. On the coast the chief enemy of the Parrots is the Vulturine Sea-Eagle (Gypohierax angolensis).

GREY PARROT.

The colouring of the Grey Parrot is simple, being of a clear bluish-grey, with a red tail. About the face the skin is white, and covered with a soft, velvety feathering, amongst which there is a plentiful supply of white powder, as any one knows who scratches the head of “Polly.” This powder is present in most of the family, but not to the same degree as in the grey species. The young bird in the nest is stated to have the tail dark-grey instead of red, and it is more of a brownish-grey colour, not so clear as in the old bird, while the iris is grey instead of yellow.

The CONURES(Conurinæ) are the third sub-family of Parrots, and are represented largely in America, only one genus,Palæornis, being found in India and Africa. They have the head devoid of a crest, with a very long graduated tail, and short and weak tarsi. Amongst the best-known species of this sub-family may be mentioned the Great Macaw.

THE ROSE-RINGED PARRAKEET (Palæornis torquatus).

ROSE-RINGED PARRAKEET.

This Parrot is probably the species of which we have the earliest known record, as Onesicritus, who was admiral of the fleet of Alexander the Great, is said to have brought from Ceylon a specimen of a green Parrot with a red neck. Many authors have supposed that the large Alexandrine Parrakeet (Palæornis eupatrius, orAlexandri) was the species referred to, but the habitat of this bird is nowknown to be the island of Java, and the Rose-ringed Parrakeet is more probably the bird intended. Professor Sundevall, the great authority on Aristotle, believes that the present bird was the only Parrot known to the ancients, being brought into Europe probably from Nubia. Other species were not seen in Europe before the end of the Middle Ages, and the West African species, such as the Senegal Parrot (P. senegalus), in 1455, and the Grey Parrot even later; the latter not being described before Aldrovandus, about the year 1600. American species were brought already in 1493 by Christopher Columbus, and many Indian species after the circumnavigation of Africa about the year 1500. The present bird is common in India and Ceylon, and is, moreover, one of the few species of birds which are common to the Indian Peninsula and the continent of Africa, as it is a well-known bird in Nubia and Abyssinia, and on one occasion a flock has been seen in the neighbourhood of Port Elizabeth in the extreme south of the continent. According to Dr. Jerdon, it is one of the most common and familiar birds in India, frequenting cultivated ground and gardens, even in the barest and least wooded parts of the country, and it is habitually found about towns and villages, constantly perching on the house-top. It is very destructive to most kinds of grain, as well as to fruit-gardens. Burgess says that they carry off the ears of corn to trees to devour at leisure, and Jerdon has observed the same sometimes. When the grains are cut and housed it feeds on the ground in the stubble cornfields, also in meadows, picking up what seeds it can; and now and then takes long flights, hunting for any tree that may be in fruit, skimming close and examining every tree; and when it has made a discovery of one in fruit, circling round, and sailing with outspread and down-pointing wings till it alights on the tree. It associates in flocks of various size, sometimes in vast numbers, and generally many hundreds roost together in some garden or grove. At Saugor all the Parrakeets, Mynahs, Crows, Bee-eaters, &c., of the neighbourhood, for some miles around, roost in company in a large grove of bamboos; and the deafening noise heard there from before sunset till dark, and from the first dawn of day till long after sunrise, gives to the listener the idea of numberless noisy steam machines at work. Many of the flocks of Parrots are very late in returning, and fly along quite low, skimming the ground, and just rising over a tree, house, or any obstacle in the way, and, for several nights in succession, several Parrakeets flew against the wall of a house, on the top of a hill inSaugor, and were killed. The Rose-ringed Parrakeet breeds both in holes in trees, and very commonly in the south of India about houses, in holes in old buildings, pagodas, tombs, &c. It lays four white eggs. Its breeding season is from January to March. Adams states that he has seen this Parrakeet pillage the nests of the Sand Martin; but with what intent he does not guess at. Its ordinary flight is rapid, with repeated strokes of the wings, somewhat wavy laterally, or arrowy. It has a harsh cry, which it always repeats when in flight, as well as at other times. Mr. Philipps remarks that the Kite will sometimes swoop down on them when perched on a tree, and carry one off in its talons; also that Owls attack these birds by night.[243]

The length of this species is about sixteen inches and a half. It is green with a black band extending from under the chin backwards nearly to the nape, and having a rose-coloured collar round the hind neck. The bill is cherry-red, the feet greyish, and the iris pale yellow. The female does not possess the rose-coloured collar, but has instead a narrower one of emerald green.

THE CAROLINA CONURE (Conurus carolinensis).

The Conures are inhabitants of the New World, and are very abundant in South America, but one species, the Carolina Conure, penetrating into the Nearctic region above the line of North Mexico. It is a very handsome bird, but is rapidly decreasing in numbers, and becoming restricted in its range, so much so, that in places where it was once plentiful it is now no longer to be found at all. Even in 1842, when Audubon wrote, they were then fast diminishing, and are now confined to the Southern and South-western States, as far west as the Missouri river. The food of the Carolina Conure is stated to consist chiefly of the seeds of the Cockle-burr (Xanthirum strumarium), but it is also very partial to fruit of all kinds, and it is owing to the way in which it has been shot down that it is now so rare, for Mr. Audubon describes the immense damage done by a flock of Conures to stacks of grain, which they covered in such numbers that they presented to the eye the same effect as if a brilliant-coloured carpet had been thrown over them. The farmers resented the attacks on their property to such an extent that the same naturalist states that he has seen hundreds killed in the course of a few hours, the survivors, after each shot, flying round for a few minutes, and then settling again in a place of most imminent danger. Even in confinement the birds seem to develop their destructive propensities, destroying wood, books, and, in short, everything that comes in their way, while from their incapability of talk, and their harsh, disagreeable voices, they are not much esteemed as pets. As Audubon observes, the woods are the habitation best fitted for them, and there the richness of their plumage, their beautiful mode of flight, and even their screams, afford welcome intimation that the darkest forests and most sequestered swamps are not destitute of charms. According to the same observer, they deposit their eggs, without making a nest, in the bottoms of such cavities in trees as those to which they usually retire at night. Many females deposit their eggs together, and he believed that the number laid by each hen bird was two; the eggs were greenish-white, and nearly round, and the young are at first covered with soft down, such as is seen in nestling Owls. The colour of this Parrot is green, the head and neck bright-yellow, and the forehead and region of the eye scarlet; the bill is white, the feet pale flesh-colour, and the iris hazel; the length of the bird being about fourteen inches. The female is like the male, but the young bird has the head green instead of yellow.

THE PARRAKEETS (Platycercinæ).

These form the fourth sub-family, and are remarkable for their slender, smooth tarsus, which is formed as in most birds; and the voice is more agreeable than in the other genera, the members of which, almost without exception, have a harsh and unpleasant cry. They are mostly inhabitants of Australia, whence come several of them well known as cage-birds, such as the King Parrakeet (Platycercus scapulatus), the Rosella, or Rose Parrakeet (P. eximius), and in America they are represented by the single genusBolborhynchus.

ROSELLA.

THE OWL PARROT (Strigops[244]habroptilus[245]).

The genusStrigopsis the sole representative of the fifth sub-family, theStrigopinæ. It is one of the most remarkable of all the Parrots, and is met with only in New Zealand. The face shows a disc exactly as in the Owls, whence the name, and the wing is very short, convex, and rounded. In its habits this bird is chiefly nocturnal, but not entirely so; the most remarkable fact connected with it being, perhaps, its unwillingness to fly. Thus Dr. Buller, F.R.S., in his excellent work on the “Birds of New Zealand,” writes:—“All who have studied the bird in its natural state agree on this point, that the wings, although sufficiently large and strong, are perfectly useless for purposes of flight, and that the bird merely spreads them to break the force of its fall in descending from a higher point to a lower, when suddenly surprised; in some instances even this use of them is neglected, the bird falling to the ground like a stone. We are naturally led to ask how it is that a bird possessing large and well-formed wings should be found utterly incapable of flight. On removing the skin from the body it is seen that the muscles by means of which the movements of these anterior limbs are regulated are very well developed, but are largely overlaid with fat. The bird is known to be a ground-feeder, with a voracious appetite, and to subsist chiefly on vegetable mosses, which, possessing but little nutriment, require to be eaten in large quantities; and Dr. Haast informs us that he has sometimes seen them with their crops so distended and heavy, that the birds were scarcely able to move. These mosses cover the ground and the roots or trunks of prostrate trees, requiring to be sought for on foot; and the bird’s habit of feeding at night, in a country where there are no indigenous predatory quadrupeds, would render flight a superfluous exertion, and a faculty of no especial advantage in the struggle for existence. Thus it may be reasonably inferred thatdisuse, under the usual operations of the laws of nature, has occasioned this disability of wing; for there is no physiological reason why the Kakapo should not be as good a flier as any other Parrot.”

OWL PARROT. (After Keulemans)

The Kakapo, as it is called in New Zealand, meaning a “Night Parrot,” is becoming rarer every year, as the places which it affects become more and more accessible to the colonists. From the long accounts of its habits given in Dr. Buller’s work, the following note of Dr. Haast is selected, as itgives a good idea of the habits of this singular species:—“So little is known of this solitary inhabitant of our primæval forests, that the following short narrative of observations, which I was fortunate enough to make during my recent West Coast journey, may interest you. Although I was travelling almost continuously for several years in the interior of these islands, it was only during my last journey that I was enabled to study its natural history. I was well acquainted with its call, and had often observed its tracks in the sands of the river-beds and in the fresh-fallen snow, but I had not actually seen it. The principal reason for this was, that formerly I had no dog with me; and consequently it would only be by the greatest accident that this bird, not at all rare in those untrodden regions, could be obtained. The true habitat of the Kakapo is the mossyFagusforest, near mountain streams, with occasional grassy plots; but it also lives both on the hill-sides, amongst enormous blocks of rock, mostly overgrown with roots of trees and a deep covering of moss, and on wooded flats along the banks of the larger rivers, liable to be inundated by heavy rainfalls or by the sudden melting of the snow.... It is a striking fact, that—with the exception only of the valley of the river Makarora, forming Lake Wanaka—I never found the Kakapo on the eastern side of the Alps, although extensiveFagusforests exist there also. It appears to have crossed the main chain at the low wooded pass which leads from the source of the Haast to that of the Makarora, and reached the mouth of this river at Lake Wanaka, where probably the absence of forest put a stop to its farther advance. It is very abundant in the valley of the last-mentioned river, and is found even in the Makarora bush, notwithstanding that numerous sawyers are at work there. When camped on the borders of that forest we continually heard its call near our tents; but none of the sawyers had any idea of the existence of such a large bird in their neighbourhood, although the irregular shrill call had sometimes attracted their attention. It also occurs in the valley of the Wilkin, but is less numerous there, which may be accounted for by the existence of wild dogs in this locality. We may therefore safely assume that from the junction of this river with the Makarora the Kakapo ascended toward the sources of the former. In the valley of the Hunter, only divided by a mountain-range of great altitude but with some low saddles, no sign of it was to be observed, although largeFagusforests would appear to offer a propitious abode. This bird has hitherto been pronounced to be of true nocturnal habits; but I think, from observations I was able to make, that this opinion ought to be somewhat modified. It is true that generally an hour after sunset, the dense foliage of the forest giving additional darkness to the country, its call began to be heard all around us. It then commenced to rove about, and, attracted by the glare of our camp-fire, frequently came close to our tent, when the heedless bird was immediately caught by our dog. But as we met with it on two occasions in the daytime, occupied in feeding, and as I observed that it knew and understood perfectly well the danger which approached, we may assume that it has, at least in this respect, some relation to diurnal birds. In order to show why I come to this conclusion, I will particularise the two occurrences I have mentioned, as they appear to bear directly upon some other important points in the structure of this bird. When returning from the West Coast, we observed in the afternoon (the sky being clouded) a Kakapo sitting on the prostrate trunk of a tree in the open forest. When about ten yards from it, the bird observed us, and disappeared instantly in its hole, whence, with the aid of the dog, we afterwards took it. It is clear that in this case the bird was not overtaken by thecoming day when far from its abode, but that it left its retreat voluntarily during daylight. The second instance I shall mention is more striking, and shows that the Kakapo feeds also during the day. It was towards evening, but still broad daylight, when we passed along the hill-side near a deep rocky gorge, and saw a large Kakapo sitting on a low fuchsia-tree, about ten feet from the ground, feeding on the berries. When close to it, the bird saw us, and instantly dropped down as if shot, and disappeared amongst the huge fragments of rocks strewed along the hill-side. But the most remarkable circumstance was, that the frightened bird did not open its wings to break its fall, but dropped as if it did not possess any wings at all. In order to see whether they would fly, or even flutter, when pursued by an enemy, I placed on the ground a full-grown specimen, which had been caught by the dog without being hurt. It was on a large shingle-bed, so that the bird had ample room for running or rising on the wing, if for this purpose it wanted space. I was not a little astonished to observe that it only started running towards the nearest point of the forest, where a dark shadow was apparent, and it went quicker than I had anticipated, considering the position of its toes and its clumsy figure, its gait resembling closely that of a Gallinaceous bird in its movements. As I was standing sideways to it, I thought that it kept its wings closed upon its body, so little were they opened; but my companion, who was equally anxious to see how our prisoner would try to escape, and who stood a little behind it, observed that it opened its wings slightly, but without flapping them in any degree, using them apparently more for keeping its balance than for accelerating its movements. This would almost lead to the conclusion that the Kakapo does not travel far, especially as I have already shown that its whole structure is ill adapted for running. But having myself frequently followed its tracks, and found them to extend a great distance over the sandy reaches along the river, such a conclusion as that suggested above would be erroneous. It must be exceedingly fond of water, because in many localities its tracks were observed for half a mile over shingle and sand to the banks of the river; and I am unable to explain the curious fact, unless the object be to mix river water with the enormous mass of pulpy vegetable matter which is to be found in its crop. With the exception of two specimens, the crops of which were filled with the large berries of a small-leavedCoriaria, by which their flesh was flavoured, all the birds examined by me had their crops widely distended by a mass of finely-comminuted vegetable mosses, weighing many ounces.

“I carefully examined the subterranean abode of this bird. From the account given by the natives, I thought that it would be found living in well-excavated holes, resembling in their construction those of the Fox or Badger; that the entrance would be so small as to enable only the inhabitants to enter, and thus to exclude larger animals from persecuting it. This, however, is not the case; because, with one exception, all the specimens obtained were either in fissures amongst rocks, or in cavities formed by huge blocks tumbled one over another, and overgrown with moss, or in holes formed by the roots of decayed trees. The cavities in the rocks were generally sufficiently large to allow of my dog, a good-sized Retriever, freely entering them. The openings to the other holes were smaller, and it was sometimes necessary to cut away a few roots at the entrance. Inside, the cavity was invariably of very large size, because we could plainly hear the dog advancing several yards before commencing his scuffle with the occupant; and on returning with the bird in his mouth, he always emerged head foremost, thus proving that the chamber was large enough to enable him to turn himself round. Before he had become accustomed to the work, the dog was often punished severely by the bird’s powerful beak and claws; but he ultimately became quite an expert, always seizing his prey by the head and crushing the skull.

“The holes or abodes of the Kakapo were not only on the mountain sides, but also on the flats near the river banks which are liable to be overflowed. There can be no doubt that when a sudden inundation takes place the bird can save itself upon a bush or neighbouring tree. I do not think, however, that it can climb the boles of standing trees, because it never resorted to them during the night or when persecuted by the dog—except in one single case, when the bird ascended a leaning tree close to our camp, and remained till the dog had given up the attempt to obtain it. But, notwithstanding that almost all the abodes that came under examination were natural cavities, I met with one hole that seemed to have been regularly mined. On the northern bank of the river Haast, just below the junction of the river Clarke, a large flat occurs, formed by deposits of sand, over which a thin layer of vegetable mould is spread, and on which a luxuriant vegetation has sprung up. Theriver, in washing against these deposits, has in some cases formed nearly perpendicular banks, about six to eight feet high. At one spot, about two feet below the surface, several rounded holes were observed, and the dog tried in vain to enter them. After carefully scenting the ground, he began to scratch the surface with his paws, and soon succeeded in widening the entrance sufficiently to admit his body, and he immediately afterwards emerged with the bird in his mouth. There is no doubt in my own mind that this hole at least had been excavated; and the burrowing faculty of the bird may be considered so far established. On a flat in the valley of the Makarora, the dog brought one from the interior of a hollow drift-tree, which was lying amongst sedges and grasses in an old river channel. There never was more than one individual in the hole, although very often, within twenty or thirty yards of it, another specimen would be scented out by the dog, the two being generally of opposite sexes. At night-time, in visiting our camp fire, they generally came in pairs, the two being successively caught by my dog, a single or sometimes a repeated angry growl from the bird informing us that he had hold of it. These circumstances lead me to conclude that during the day each inhabits separately its own hole, and that only after dark do they meet for feeding and for social intercourse.”

In size, the Owl Parrot is about twenty-six inches in length, and is of a dark sap-green colour, varied and mottled with dark brown and yellow; the face is lighter, being darker brown, the ear-coverts mixed with yellow; the belly and under tail-coverts, as well as the wing-lining, are rather brighter yellow than the rest of the under surface. The tint of green varies a good deal: from light yellowish to dark sap-green.

THE STRAIGHT-BILLED PARROTS (Psittaci orthognathi).[246]

In this second section of the Parrots only one family is known, all the members of which are easily recognisable by their straightened bills, the lower mandible being gently compressed, and not bulged out, with a nearly straight tip, the cutting edges with scarcely any indentation. With the exception of the Lorikeets (Loriculus), members of which are found in India and the Indo-Malayan region, the whole family is Australian, being confined to that continent and the adjacent Molucca Islands, New Zealand, and the islands of Polynesia.

LORIKEET.

THE BRUSH-TONGUED PARROTS.[247]

The Brush-tongued Lorikeets are all birds of very beautiful colouring, and are mostly found in Australia, the Moluccas, some few species extending through the Oceanic Islands. All seem to be very similar in their habits, an account of which is given by Mr. Gould. He says:—“This arboreal group of honey-eating Lorikeets, if not so numerous in species as the seed-feeding Parrakeets, is individually as abundant, and more universally dispersed, being found in every part of Australia yet visited. In their structure, habits, food, and mode of nidification, no two groups of the same family can be more widely different than these forms: the pencilled tongue, the diminutive stomach, thick skin, tough flesh, and fœtid odour of theTrichoglossipresenting a decided contrast to the simple tongue, capacious crop and stomach, thin skin, delicate flesh, and freedom from odour of thePlatycerci; besides which, theTrichoglossipossess a strongos furcatorium, which bone is wanting in thePlatycerci. Hence, while theTrichoglossiare powerful, swift, and arrow-like in their flight, thePlatycerciare feeble, pass through the air in a succession of undulations near the ground, and never fly to any great distance. The mode in which the two groups approach, alight upon, and quit the trees is also remarkably different—theTrichoglossidashing among and alighting upon the branches simultaneously and with the utmost rapidity, and quitting them in like manner, leaving the deafening sound of their thousand voices echoing through the woods; while thePlatycercirise to the branch after their undulating flight, and leave them again in a quiet manner, no sound being heard but their inward piping note. The eggs of theTrichoglossiare from two to four in number; those of the others are more numerous.”

THE NESTORS (Nestor).

These Parrots, which are only found in New Zealand, are generally placed with the other Brush-tongued Parrots. “In all Parrots the fleshy tongue ends anteriorly in a dilated portion, supported by a narrower neck. This tip is much like the end of a human finger, as mentioned by most observers; and its function is similar also, for it is employed by the bird as a third prehensile organ in connection with the upper and lower beak, any solid substance being held by the tongue and upper beak, while the mandible is freed to give another bite. Continuing the simile of the finger, the tip is directed forwards with the nail-like portion downwards, the part corresponding to the free edge of the nail appearing along the lower margin of the anterior rounded surface.[248]In theTrichoglossi, this ‘nail,’ or horny plate, is stated to be present; but on the superior surface of the tongue, between the lateral edges of the unguis, or nail, there is an arrangement of retroverted papillæ, forming a spinous covering, and their mechanism is such that when the tongue is protruded beyond the mouth to grasp any object, the papillæ stand upright, or are even directed somewhat forward. In Nestor,” continues Professor Garrod, “there are no papillæ of this description; but the tongue is here, as Dr. Buller says, ‘soft, rounded on the edges, with a broad central groove,’ and it is as smooth as in other Parrots. Therefore, the Kaka Parrot cannot in this point be said to approach theTrichoglossini(badly so called). The peculiarity of the tongue ofNestorconsists in the fact that the interior edge of the unguis, or nail, always free (though for a very short distance) and jagged in the other birds of the class, is here prolonged forwards beyond the tips of the tongue for about one-tenth of an inch, as a delicate fringe of hairs with a crescentic contour. In the living bird the mouth is moist, as in the Lories, and not, as in the Cockatoos and others, dry and scaly.”

TONGUE OF NESTOR. (After Garrod.)

The members of the genusNestorare entirely confined to New Zealand, the species of Philip Island (Nestor productus) being now extinct. Their habits, like those of all New Zealand birds, are sufficiently curious, one of them, known as the “Kea” (N. notabilis), actually feeding on raw flesh, as is noticed by Dr. Buller:—“Those that frequent the sheep stations appear to live almost exclusively on flesh. They claim the sheep’s heads that are thrown out from the slaughter-shed, and pick them perfectly clean, leaving nothing but the bones.” An eye-witness described this operation to Dr. Hector as follows:—“Perching itself on the sheep’s head or other offal, the bird proceeds to tear offthe skin and flesh, devouring it piecemeal, after the manner of a Hawk; or at other times holding the object down with one foot, and with the other grasping the portion it was eating, after the ordinary fashion of Parrots.” Dr. Buller also mentions instances of tame Parrots devouring their comrades in captivity; but the Kea is the only Parrot known to eat flesh when flying wild.

THE KAKA PARROT (Nestor meridionalis).

This Parrot is best described by the above-named ornithologist in the work on the Birds of New Zealand, to which frequent reference has been made in these pages:—“Sprightly in its actions, eminently social, and more noisy than any other inhabitant of the woods, the Kaka holds a prominent place among our native birds. Being semi-nocturnal in its habits, it generally remains quiet and concealed during the heat of the day. If, however, the sportsman should happen to find a stray one, and to wound instead of killing it, its cries of distress will immediately rouse the whole fraternity from their slumbers, and all the Kakas within hearing will come to the rescue, and make the forest echo with their discordant screams. Unless, however, disturbed by some exciting cause of this sort, they remain in close cover till the approach of the cooler hours. Then they come forth with noisy clamour, and may be seen, far above the tree-tops, winging their way to some favourite feeding-place; or they may be observed climbing up the rough vine-clad boles of the trees, freely using their powerful mandibles, and assuming every variety of attitude, or diligently tearing open the dead roots of the close epiphytic vegetation in their eager search for insects and their larvæ. In the spring and summer, when the woods are full of wild blossom and berry, these birds have a prodigality of food, and may be seen alternately filling their crops with a variety of juicy berries, or sucking nectar from the crimson flowers of the rata (Metrosideros robusta) by means of their brush-fringed tongues. With the earliest streaks of dawn, and while the underwoods are still wrapped in darkness, the wild cry of this bird breaks upon the ear with a strange effect. It is the sound that wakes the weary traveller encamped in the bush; and the announcement of his ever active Maori attendant—‘Kua tangi te Kaka’—is an intimation that it is time to be active. But although habitually recluse during the day, it is not always so.

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