Aceaunt of a Parrot bafshvd af Momf. »39 



there were three. Thoug'h thufe eggs were cvften handled, 

 the female never made the leafl hefitation to fit upon them*. 

 Of the eggs laid thi» and the preceding yeai-, only one was 

 hatched. 



The female alone fits on the eggs. The period of incuba- 

 tion is forty davs f. The female fcarcely ever leaves thcni, 

 except to drink, or for any other necefi'ary purpoie ; and then- 

 flie iminediatelv returns. During that lime, the male itands 

 feniinel at a little diltance: he is very attentive to the lealt 

 noife, and never fiirs from the fpot but to carry food to the 

 female, which he always breaks with his bill during the in- 

 cubation. 



When the young parrot is hatched, both the old ones 

 carry it food. The young one did not begin to eat alone till 

 the 70th day. 'J'he old ones continued to cut the food w'ith' 

 their beaks for more than ten days. 



I'hey gave to the young one the fame food as the^' ufed 

 themfelvcs. Beinc accuiiomed to every thing, they ate rice, 

 meal, palte, 'JMrkey corn, hemp-feed, and fruits; but they 

 were i'ondeit of the feeds of the turniole, carthamus, melon, 

 and cucumber. 



The following fact is highly worthy of attention : — ^The 

 owner feeino- that his young parrot increafcd in fizc, and 

 fearing that the veliel v.-ould be too fmall to contain the 

 mother and her young one, he put into a ballcct fume linen 

 rags and feather?, depofited it in the fame place where the 

 wflel fiood, and conveyed the young parrot into it: the 

 mother ininiediatelv repaired to the balket, and feemed highly 

 fatisfied with lier new liabitation ; but fome hours after, flic 

 began tt) cut with her beak (xne edge of the balket : in three 

 davs flie finiOied her work, having made an aperture in it 

 t<)ur or five inches in width and fix or feveii in height. Tlie 

 tiviirs were cut as neatly as if by the fharped inltrumcnc. — 

 It appears to me that this fa6l can be explained onlv in two 

 wavs. The mother, feeing her young one grow big, cut the 

 edge of the balket, that when it was m a itate to go abroad 

 it might have no occafion to climb over the edge, which was 

 aljxmi fi.x inches in height. 



III. Dcfcriptioji of the Male, the Female, a?id youn^ Parroty 

 tn oriUr to of certain to ivhal Species they beleiig. 



Had ornilhologifts left us exact defcriptions, Ft would- be 

 cafy to compare diilerent fpccies : thcfe del'criptions are very 

 ulien defiuieat aiid impcrtctt, and very ol'teu the. male altuie,. 



Bijfton iii.Kic ilic fuiii'/ obllrviitioii, vol. ix. Svo. (>. ;;->. 

 ■\ BuJt'iii I'v.-n tliat ilic iiijU- a"nd foiiiale Ainazuu [jjiioti iii altcniatciv. 



4 or 



