ASH-COLOURED OK GREY PARROT. 127 



by a Cardinal. Its merits, however, appear to have 

 been of a kind well calculated at that period to 

 create an unusual degree of astonishment, and a 

 feeling of the marvellous, as it had learned to repeat 

 with clearness, and without hesitation, the whole Oi 

 the Apostles' creed. Willughby, also, in his old 

 and excellent work on Ornithology, mentions the 

 high prices brought by Parrots of various species in 

 Holland, and other parts of the Continent. To enu- 

 merate the various anecdotes related of this bird, 

 would not only occupy more space than the nature 

 of our work will allow, but would, in a great mea- 

 sure, be only repeating what has already so frequent- 

 ly been told in the works and compilations of other 

 writers. We shall only observe, that, in many of 

 the marvellous stories recorded of Parrots, particu- 

 larly all such as relate to answers seemingly appro- 

 priate and consequent to questions put to them, and 

 which some authors would almost seem to imply 

 were dictated by intelligence, or that the birds really 

 understood the import of what was asked, are mere- 

 ly the result, under accidental and fortunate circum- 

 t stances, of what had previously been taught them 

 by frequent repetition, to articulate by rote. 



The imitative propensity of the Parrot, amusing 

 as it in general may be, is, however, sometimes to 

 be guarded against, and productive of untoward ac- 

 cidents, as the following instance related to us will 

 shew. A Parrot which was kept upon a quay in a 

 sea- port town, had learned the term, with its appro- 



