106 OUR HOME PETS 



a certain fascination in seeing a bird eat bread 

 and meat, and drink coffee and tea, irresisti- 

 ble to many persons; no creature takes more 

 kindly to a human diet than a parrot, and to 

 none is it more often fatal. Sometimes, it is 

 true, a bird will live years under this treat- 

 ment, either because the family menu is not 

 over-rich, or because the bird has a stronger 

 constitution than most of his kind; but, in the 

 majority of cases, it causes illness, shown by 

 bad temper and fretfulness before long by 

 death. 



To avoid the begging of a parrot, and the 

 temptation to yield, it is always best to keep 

 the bird out of the dining-room, for nothing is 

 harder than to refuse the plain request of a 

 captive. 



The best food for the gray, and the green 

 about his size, is simply dry corn or seed 

 hemp, canary, or millet with plain tepid wa- 

 ter to drink. Crackers will not hurt him, but 

 if he have any bread, it should be dry. Smaller 

 parrots and paroquets should have very little 

 or no hemp, which is too rich. Green food is 

 said to be unnecessary to parrots ; but I think 

 a little fruit, perfectly ripe, or green corn or 



