376 Practical Bird-Keeping .— VIII. Parrots.


Lincolns and Pennants passing the winter entirely out of doors,

with only shelters, and those unheated. The gloss and tightness

of their plumage, as well as their activity and sprightliness,

testify to their robust health.


I have had to break the ice in the bathing dishes for these

birds to take their baths, which they often do directly the fresh

water is poured in ; for Parrots delight in bathing, and the differ¬

ence between a bird that has a bath and one that hasn’t, is very

marked.


I wonder if the inmates of the host of cages in the Parrot

House at our London Zoological Gardens ever have a good

syringing. It would be a long task, but perhaps in the warm

weather it is done. Were I their keeper, I should make a point

of syringing half a dozen each day, putting them outside to do

so, and removing the seed and sand trays first of all, afterwards

sponging the cage dry before returning the food, etc.


I know a Jardine’s Parrot, and on visiting it one day, I

suggested to the owner that the bird looked as if a bath would

improve its appearance. “lam so afraid of its catching cold,”

was the reply. I pointed out that it would on the contrary be

more inclined to prevent its doing so, especially as it is a very

tame bird and can be taken on the hand to flutter its wings and

so shake off any superabundance of water.


I called another day, and the bird looked fifty times better

in his plumage. Of course one must be sure that a parrot is in

good health, and if it has been used to ablutions of this sort, the

water (if it will not or cannot take its own bath) should be only

slightly sprinkled at first. But I have Parrots whose plumage

is so tight and so accustomed to a syringing, that one has to

spray with force before the feathers are apparently wetted : and

although individual birds do not always approve of a shower-

bath at the moment, they evince great pleasure directly it is

over, shaking themselves and preening their feathers and often

attempting another bath in their drinking water!


It is unnatural to keep a Parrot indoors all through the

year without a bath, when one thinks of the drenching tropical

rains through which they fly, and the daily baths in some

mountain stream or forest pool which they enjoy.



