Birds that Talk and Mimic 



bird was a hen, and sex often seems not to in- 

 fluence the talking capacity of a parrot. 



A hen red-and-yellow macaw in the Calcutta 

 Zoological Gardens, which had been received 

 by exchange from the London Zoo, used to say, 

 "Come on, Cocky!" with absolute perfection of 

 intonation, while her mate never said a word. 



In India also I heard of a specimen of the 

 native green parrakeet which must have been 

 an extraordinary talker. Its owner — a soldier 

 — said that the bird (which, by the way, he 

 did not want to sell) spoke English, Hindustani, 

 and Japanese, and picked up fresh expressions 

 so readily that he was "afraid to swear at the 

 servants before it." 



The Indian parrakeets were those first known 

 to the ancients, and the bird which belonged to 

 Corinna, the beloved of Ovid, has been immor- 

 talised by the poet. It was, he said, more bril- 

 liant green than emeralds, with saffron bill, and 

 its last words were, "Corinna, farewell!" 



Another Roman parrot was, like our fiscal 

 friends, educated in politics, and is made to 

 remark : — 



" For other names your teachings may avail, 

 I taught myself to utter, ' Caesar, hail ! ' ' 



It is a far cry indeed from ancient Rome to 



modern New Zealand, but from the latter country 



in 



