212 HABITS OP BIRDS. 



It is rather a curious circumstance, character- 

 izing, it would appear, the mocking-bird, as well as 

 our European birds, that the species distinguished 

 for singing seldom learn to imitate human speech; 

 while those which do not sing, such as the jay, the 

 magpie, and the parrot, are well known as success- 

 ful imitators. 



The gray parrot (Psittacus erithacus) which be- 

 longed to Colonel O'Kelly " not only," says Bing- 

 ley, "repeated a great number of sentences, but 

 answered many questions : it was also able to 

 whistle many tunes. It beat time with all the ap- 

 pearance of science ; and so accurate was its judg- 

 ment, that if by chance it mistook a note, it would 

 revert to the bar where the mistake was made, cor- 

 rect itself, and, still beating regular time, go through 

 the whole with wonderful exactness. Its death 

 was thus announced in the General Evening Post 

 for the 9th of October, 1802 : * A few days ago died, 

 in Half Moon-street, Piccadilly, the celebrated par- 

 rot of Colonel O'Kelly. This singular bird sang a 

 number of songs in perfect time and tune ; she 

 could express her wants articulately, and give her 

 orders in a manner approaching nearly to rationali- 

 ty. Her age was not known ; it was, however, 

 more than thirty years, for previously to that pe- 

 riod Mr. O'Kelly bought her at Bristol for a hun- 

 dred guineas. The colonel was repeatedly offered 

 five hundred guineas a year for the bird, by persons 

 who wished to make a public exhibition of her ; but 

 this, out of tenderness to the favourite, he constant- 

 ly refused." 



There are many persons now alive who have 

 witnessed these scarcely credible performances. 

 Among these, the Rev. W. H. Herbert says : " That 

 wonderful bird, Colonel O'Kelly's parrot, which I 

 had the satisfaction of seeing and hearing (about 

 the year 1799, if I recollect rightly), beat the time 

 always with his foot, turning round upon the perch 



