150 Notes on the Creat-biJJed Parrakcct. 



Last autumn T decided to try the (ireat-bills at liberty, as 

 they never looked particularly happy in confinement and were 

 rather stolid and uninterestint;'. Accordingly the two best 

 pluniat^ed ones (both cocks) were chosen, and one was 

 released in my j^arden in Hampshire. He stayed well, and very 

 soon 1 noticed a considerable chan.^e in him for the better. 

 His plumage wonderfully improved and from being a grotesque 

 caricature, like a parrot in a comic paper, he became a noble- 

 looking bird, even his large red beak making a handsome finish 

 to his appearance. His head and neck were a brilliant grass- 

 green, the breast and underparts having a yellowish tinge. 

 The feathers of the mantle and rump were edged with lovely 

 pale blue, while the smaller wing feathers were mostly dark 

 blue, the scapulars being beautifully pencilled with buttercup- 

 yellow. 



With freedom the Great-bill also began to find his voice — 

 as long as he was caged he had been silent — and what a voice it 

 was ! When he was on the wing he made a noise something 

 like a shunting goods' train and a pack of hounds in full cry. with 

 a few amazon squawks thrown in. But this was not all; on a tine 

 morning he would post himself on a branch and indulge in a 

 species of recitation, jigging up and down and throwing himself 

 about as he did so. His oratory can hardly be described as melo- 

 dious, but it was unrivalled for variety and power, and was, on 

 the whole, most expressive of joie de I'iz're. He would usually 

 begin by shouting " Wurrur ! " in a deep, half-human voice and 

 then go on with something which sounded rather like " Kick 

 Macgregor, Kick ^VTacgregor ! Kick Macgregor! Teetle, leetle 

 leetle leetle lee! Kikorwick ! kikr>rwick! kikorwick ! " after 

 which he would scream and squall and pipe like a little finch with 

 almost endless variations and in every conceivable key. Being 

 without a com[)anion of his own kind, he associated a good deal 

 with a cock Alexandrine Parrakeet, who, though the finest 

 specimen of his kind 1 have ever seen, looked very dowdv beside 

 his companion. At first he was rather suspicious of the 

 Alexandrine, and warned him ofi whenever he came too near, 

 but finding that the parrakeet was neighbourlv n}u\ good- 

 tempered, he soon gave up all demonstrations of hostility. I 



