184 THE SPEAKING PARROTS. 



It is a native of Celebes and the Togian Islands. Dr. A. B. 

 Meyer found it there in abundance, and sometimes in very large 

 flocks, wliich flew away with rapid strokes of the wing, uttering 

 short shrill cries. The natives keep them in numbers, chained 

 to a little stand before the doors of their huts by means of a 

 ring made of cocoanut-shell, and feed them with rice and 

 bananas. The above-named explorer informs us that this bird 

 (like several other lories) has a perceptible and not unpleasant 

 smell of musk. 



With us it is, unfortunately, among the rarest in the bird 

 market ; moreover, the dealers have had troublesome experiences 

 of it, for most Ornamented Lories die suddenly in spite of their 

 arrival in apparently perfect health and in good plumage. This, 

 however, I am convinced, arises solely from improper treatment, 

 and I therefore call attention to the remarks on this point 

 at page 8 of my Introduction. If these lories arrive in a 

 healthy state, they are just as easily kept as the Blue 

 Mountain Lory, for they only require the same care and diet, 

 and resemble it in nearly every other respect. 



They have, however, already found friends who take an 

 interest in them. Mr. Heer, of Striegau, writes as follows : 

 " My male Ornamented Lory is a nice bird, very tame, and 

 reminds one very much, in its actions, of the Blue Mountain 

 Lory. It also appears to be very teachable, for it has picked 

 up all sorts of words from other birds, which it imitates ; it 

 chatters most, and many things, in the evening." Mr. A. Eberle 

 writes of a couple, belonging to the bird dealer, Franz 

 Petzold, of Prague, that the male spoke Italian, which it had 

 probably learnt from the sailors on the voyage. " Among my 

 bristle-tongued parrots," says Mr. Scheuba, '• the Ornamented 

 Lories are not only by far the most splendid in colour, but also 

 the liveliest, most impetuous, and restless ; there is not the least 

 trace of timidity or shyness in them, even with strangers. 

 When anyone approaches their cage, they at once come near 

 to the wires and greet the visitor with somewhat shrill cries, 

 and, if the old cock can, it catches a firm hold, with claws 

 and beak, of any garment which has come too close, or else of 

 the hand, and from which his grasp can only with difficulty be 

 disengaged, and not even then, however, without his giving 

 a few painful pecks. If neglected, it attracts attention by loud 

 cries ; then, if anyone draws near, it expresses its joy by nodding 

 its head and bowing, and, frequently while doing this, it catches 



