Some Colony Birds. 181 



cock's tail, he says, " I went to it myself, hoping to learn 

 some of the existing laws of life which regulate the local dis- 

 position of colour. But none of these appear to be known; 

 and I am informed only that peacocks have grown out of 

 brown pheasants because the young feminine brown pheasants 

 like fine feathers. Whereupon I say to myself "then either 

 there was a distinct species of brown pheasants originally 

 born wi<^h a taste for fire feathers; and therefore with remark- 

 able eyes in their heads, — which would be a much more 

 wonderful distinction of species than being born with remark- 

 able eyes in their tails, — or else all pheasants would have been 

 peacocks by this time!" 



Much as scientists condemn the a priori reasoning of 

 scholasti: theologians, they instinctively fall into it themselves. 

 For example, they would say that the parrot has obtained its 

 movable inaxilla by the continuous use of it as a climbing 

 instrument, because, a priori this would be in accordance v/ith 

 their theory of evolution. But it is equally reasonal)le to 

 argue, on the contrary, that the parrot having been endowed 

 by nature with this most useful adjunct to its claws, immedi- 

 ately proceeded to give it its appropriate employment. 



Parrots are the only birds that have conceived the 

 bright idea of using their foot as a hand. Hawks, indeed, 

 hold their victims with their feet while they tear them to 

 pieces; yellow backs and birds of that class will hold a morsel 

 of food beneath a foot that they may eat piecemeal; and even 

 grass birds will so hold an ear of grass while they peck out 

 the seeds; but only parrots use a foot to convey food to the 

 mouth. Wlien I was in India I had a paroquet that, plant- 

 ing iisell firmly on its left foot, would, after the manner of 

 an East Indian, gesticulate with its right, while it poured forth 

 a torrent of imaginary eloquence I 



But to return to our immediate subject. 



As I am foil-owing no definitely scientific order in these 

 papers, I may begin with the Love-bird. 



Thf Love Bird. Only one species of this charming 

 family is to be found in the Colony; but it is common in 

 gertain localities and has been seen about Georgetown. This, 



