VERT— VERT ; OR PARROT GOSSIP 251 



island of St Vincent it is feared that it may become 

 extinct at no distant date. Altogether there are 

 about five hundred species of parrots in the world, 

 or about as many parrots as there are species of 

 birds of all kinds in Europe, from the great bustard, 

 the hooper swan, and golden eagle, to the little 

 bottle-tit whose minute body, stript of its feathers, 

 may be put in a lady's thimble. And of this multi- 

 tude of parrots the St Vincent Chrysotis, if it still 

 exists, is probably the rarest. 



The parrot I have spoken of, with his seven travel- 

 ling companions, arrived in England in December, 

 and a few days later their mistress witnessed a curious 

 thing. On a cold grey morning they were enjoying 

 themselves on their perches in a well-warmed room 

 in London, before a large window, when suddenly 

 they all together emitted a harsh cry of alarm or 

 terror — the sound which they invariably utter on the 

 appearance of a bird of prey in the sky, but at no 

 other time. Looking up quickly she saw that 

 snow in big flakes had begun to fall. It was the 

 birds' first experience of such a phenomenon, but 

 they had seen and had been taught to fear some- 

 thing closely resembling falling flakes — flying feathers 

 to wit. The fear of flying feathers is universal 

 among species that are preyed upon by hawks. In 



