THE TALKING TRIBES III 



While a parrot will live in health and good 

 spirits for years in a home where he is not 

 particularly loved or cherished, a cockatoo 

 must be the object of affection, or he will 

 grow ill-tempered, or mope and die. He must 

 love, or be at war with his neighbors. 



Another difference is in liveliness of tem- 

 perament. No bird is more grave and dig- 

 nified than a parrot, while the cockatoo is of 

 a rollicking humor, with quaint and droll ways 

 that make him a lively and amusing compan- 

 ion. When he is happy, and feels himself 

 thoroughly at home, a cockatoo is full of 

 play ; he bows and postures, lifts his feathers 

 in comical ways, lies on his back and plays 

 with a stick, turns somersaults, and performs 

 many entertaining gambols. It is delightful 

 to see two cockatoos amuse each other with 

 their funny antics, sometimes rolling over to- 

 gether on the floor like two kittens. 



In intelligence the cockatoo is remarkable 

 even in this celebrated family. His admirers 

 say that he will be found to excel even the 

 dog in this quality. He attains this devel- 

 opment, however, only in cases where he is 

 loved, and treated as a companion from whom 



