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Parrot. The name applied in a general sense to all the members of the order Psittaci, which comprises the parrots proper, the cockatoos, parroquets, macaws, lories, nestors, etc. The true parrots have the upper mandible toothed and longer than it is high, and have a short and rounded tail. These birds combine with the beauty of their plumage a nature of great docility, and have the faculty of imitating the human voice in a degree not possessed by other birds. They are found chiefly in Africa, from which we get the gray parrot, which is the favorite; South America, which is particularly rich in species, furnishes the well-known green parrot; and North America is the home of a single species, the Carolina parrakeet. The parrots are forest birds, and are adepts at climbing, using for that purpose both the feet and the bill. Their food consists of seeds and fruits.

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