regions, we are informed, they were the favourite inmates of the palaces of princes, and on their in

troduction into Greece, whence they soon found their way to Rome,-soon came into general and deserved estimation, for the symmetry of their

form, the grace and elegance of their motions, the beauty of their colours, their great docility, and imitative powers, and their fond attachment to those by whom they were domesticated and treated with kindness. Amid the luxury of Rome, the "Indian Bird" was kept in cages of the most costly materials, nor was any price, however great, deemed extravagant, or beyond its value.

The naturalists and the poets are eloquent on the varied attractions of these charming birds, descanting with admiration on the brilliant emerald plumage, the rosy collar of the neck, and the deep ruby-red hue of the beak. The species with the whole head of a changeable blossom-colour, we may reasonably infer, were unknown to them, for we cannot imagine they would have been silent on so conspicuous a feature of loveliness. Modern research has made us familiar with some eleven or twelve species, which are as generally favourites with us as with their early classical admirers. They are spread over the Indian continent and Archipelago, from the foot of the Himalaya mountains to the northern coasts of Australia.

The Alexandrine Parroquet has the general plumage of a beautiful green hue; the collar which adorns the neck is bright red, and a spot of dark purplish red marks the shoulders; the throat and a band between the eyes are black; the beak is of a rich ruby tint. The large island of Ceylon, the Taprobane of the ancients, is the principal resort of this beautiful species at this day; and it was from this island that it was first sent to the Macedonian conqueror whose name it bears. In captivity it is an affectionate and engaging bird, courting the notice and caresses of those whom it

loves. It readily learns to pronounce words with considerable distinctness.

FAMILY III. PICIDE.

(Woodpeckers.)

Some of the distinctive peculiarities of this strongly marked Family have been incidentally presented to the reader, in tracing the affinities of the Parrots, but we will now detail them more at length. The Woodpeckers are the most typical birds of their Order, for their whole organization is rendered subservient to the particular faculty of climbing, and hence they are eminently Scansores.

The feet are very short, but of unusual strength; the rigid toes diverge from a centre, two pointing forward and two backward; and the claws are large, much curved, and very hard and sharp. The bones which form the base of the tail are large, and bend downward in a peculiar manner, so that the tail feathers do not, as in other birds, follow the line of the body, but are thrown in beneath it, their points pressing against the surface on which the feet are resting and as the shafts of the tail-feathers are remarkably stout, rigid, and elastic, and are produced into stiff points, the barbs also being stiff and convex beneath, a powerful support is gained in the rapid perpendicular ascent of the bird up the trunks of trees, by the pressure of this powerful organ against the bark. Another peculiarity observable in the structure of the Woodpeckers, and one admirably adapted to their habits, is the small size of the keel of the breast-bone. Moderate powers of

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flight," observes Mr. Yarrell, "sufficient to transport the bird from tree to tree, are all that it

seems to require: large pectoral muscles, with a deep keel to the breast-bone, would to this bird be an inconvenience. The advantage of a narrow, shallow keel is immediately apparent, on looking

at a representation of the skeleton in a climbing position: the low keel allowing the bird to place its body close to the tree, to bring its centre of gravity in a perpendicular line before the points of support, and thus materially to diminish the labour of, and the strain upon, the muscles of the legs and thighs.'

The beak is hard and compact in its texture, in some species nearly resembling ivory, stout at the base, and tapering, with angled sides, to the point, which is sharpened to an edge, like a small chisel; or perhaps, the whole form may be likened to a short but stout iron nail with a flattened point. The value and efficiency of this organ will be apparent when the economy of the bird is known; it obtains its food, consisting of the larvæ of woodboring insects, by chiselling away the bark and surrounding wood, until the subtle grub is exposed. The head, then, acts as a hammer, of which the beak is the face or point, and the curved neck the handle, and being moved by muscles of great energy, the sharp and wedge-like beak-tip is propelled against the tree in a succession of strokes given with extraordinary force and rapidity.

But as the labour required actually to chisel out every grub on which the Woodpecker subsists, would be immense, effective as its weapon is, and rapid as is its execution, there is yet another admirable contrivance which we must notice, by which the prey being once exposed, is dragged from his tortuous hiding-places, and inmost crevices. The tongue is tapered to a slender horny point, and its length is extraordinary: for it passes behind into two cartilaginous filaments, which passing under

* Brit. Birds, ii. 140.