538 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



the parrot entertained himself by talking ; but when he heard a 

 sound he hoped at first to see some one come ; and when no one 

 answered him, he raised his voice, as a person would do who calls, 

 and, getting no reply, cried out louder and louder till he was heard 

 and answered. The meaning of the differences of intonation is as 

 evident in this case as in that of the drunken man. A parrot 

 raised in the south had learned to swear in the local patois. Be- 

 ing fond of coffee, he was sometimes given a spoonful, which he 

 would come awkwardly up to the table to drink with his master. 

 One day the master, not thinking of his bird, had already added 

 cognac to his coffee, and gave the i)arrot the accustomed spoonful. 

 The parrot took a swallow of it, and, in his surprise at the novel 

 taste, raised his head and repeated the oath in a tone that excited 

 laughter in all who were present. The cause of his surprise being 

 discovered, he was soothed, and then took his usual ration with 

 evident signs of contentment. The mimicry of language in this 

 case clearly represented the shade of the new impression he felt. 



Jaco is very timid. In the evening, when he is put to roost in 

 a close and dark room, he is afraid of the shadow of his perch 

 that is cast by the light we carry in our hand ; he eyes it, and 

 utters a low cry, which stops when the candle is blown out and 

 he can not see the shadow any longer. He stands in dread of 

 blows in the bottom of his cage, because, having a wing broken, 

 he can not fly, and is afraid of falling. Feeling his weakness, 

 his language has a different tone from the usual one. Large 

 birds flying in the sky above him annoy him greatly, and we can 

 all tell by his voice when such a bird is near or flying over. 

 He inclines his head and chatters in a low tone as long as the 

 bird is in sight, paying no attention to anything else. Turkeys 

 and hens announce the approach of a bird of prey in a similar 

 manner. 



We find in the facts which we have related, as well as in 

 many others which are cited respecting the ways and habits of 

 parrots, proofs of a remarkable intelligence. These creatures are 

 distinguished by the unlimited affection which they bestow upon 

 certain persons, as well as by their excessive dislikes, which noth- 

 ing can explain. Jaco conceived an extraordinary dislike for a 

 maid who, although she took good care of him, was in the habit 

 of washing the bottom of his cage under a faucet. He afterward 

 discarded another person, whom he had liked so much that she 

 could do what she pleased with him, even to passing her hand 

 over his back and taking him by the tail, holding him in her 

 hands, or putting him in her apron — caresses of a kind that par- 

 rots do not usually permit. Nothing astonished him or offended 

 him. He proved very inconstant toward her, and now, while bet- 

 ter disposed toward the other girl, he is furious against this one. 



