CHAPTER XI 



PARROTS, CUCKOOS, JXD PLJXTJIX-EJTERS 



Parrots 



THE art of taming wild animals," writes I\Ir. Jenks in his " History of Politics," "' and 

 making them serve the purposes of man, is one of the greatest discoveries of the 

 world." He holds — and there can be little question as to its reasonableness — " that 

 the domestication of animals converted the savage pack into the patriarchal tribe," and that 

 the earliest domesticated animals were pets. How- great a share, then, Parrots may have 

 had in this ci\iIisation and ad\ancement no man can tell, for it is impossible to sa\^ how long 

 these beautiful birds may have been esteemed as pets, or how carl)' the\- were introduced 

 to the notice of the civilised peoples of past generations. Certain it is, however, that for 

 more than 2,000 }-ears they have been held in the highest esteem. 



Modern discovery has added enormously to the list of known parrots, so that to-daj' more 

 than 500 different species have been described, and these may be divided into Nestors, Lories, 

 Cockatoos, Cockateels, Macaws, and Kakapos. 





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