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52
PARROTS.

stones and hurling anathemas. All the Parrakeets lay white eggs, usually four, in a hole, about the beginning of the year. A hole in either a tree or a wall will do, and I have seen a pair prospecting a little architectural orifice in the dome of the Mahaluxmee temple. I said that, with one exception, the Parrots of India belonged to the group distinguished as Parrakeets. The exception is the Indian Lorikeet (Loriculus vernalis), that quaint little grass-green bird, with crimson back and blue throat, about the size of a sparrow, which is offered for sale in pairs under the name of Lovebird. It lives on plantains and soft fruits, and sleeps hanging by its feet from the top of its cage. This is one of the birds of Bombay, though I daresay few know it. It flies very swiftly, and when it alights among foliage as green as itself, it is practically invisible; so it escapes observation; but its sharp, triple chirp, always uttered when flying, may be heard about the lower road to Malabar Point.