290 NATURAL HISTORY IN ANECDOTE. 



titles of very small insects. The general colour is a rich 

 golden green on the upper parts; the breast and neck are 

 of a dusky white. Its nest is very small, and is elegantly 

 lined with the down of the mullein. It is covered on the 

 outside with moss, to imitate the colour of the limb on which 

 it is built. 



ORDER III. The parrots never fail to interest, on account 

 The Parrots, of their beauty of form and colour, and their 

 aptitude for imitating common sounds. There are some hundreds 

 of species, belonging to different parts of the world, the 

 Cockatoos to Australia, the Macaws to America, and many 

 varieties to Africa. The Macaws and some other kinds 

 are among the most gorgeous of living birds and whether 

 seen in their native wilds or in the aviaries of civilisation 

 never fail to excite admiration. The Cockatoo is distinguished 

 from the true parrot by its crest ; other species are differentiated 

 by habit, size, colour, and form. The better known of these 

 are, the Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, the Ground parrot, the 

 Macaw, the Grey parrot, the Green parrot, the Parrakeets 

 and the Love-birds. 



The Parrot's Many stories are told of the remarkable powers 

 Intelligence. o f individual parrots and the singular appropri- 

 ateness of their remarks on particular occasions. These are 

 often so startling as to arouse suspicion of their authenticity, 

 and yet a moment's reflection will show that coincidence 

 plays a large part in these demonstrations, and that many of 

 the most astonishing examples of felicitous interjection, or 

 repartee, are due to this, and not to any special gift of 

 intelligence on the part of the bird. An ordinary parrot with 

 half a dozen phrases which it is constantly repeating, will in 

 the nature of things, often use them in singularly felicitous 

 connection with current conversation. No notice is taken of 

 the many instances in which the phrase is inappropriate and 

 yet a few cases of remarkable fitness are held to demonstrate 

 extraordinary intelligence. Teach a parrot such a simple 



