Birds of Farm and Zoo [81 



of conversing with them, the parrot is merely imitating sounds, 

 copying words or laughter as it might mimic a bird melody if it 

 were a song bird. But this disappointment may be softened by 

 the discovery that the parrot is exceptionally intelligent for an 

 animal. (Do you remember Long John Silver's parrot Captain 

 Flint in Treasure Island with his repeated cry of "Pieces of eight! 

 Pieces of eight!"?) A favorite method of teaching a parrot is to 

 hide from its view and repeat several words frequently, slowly, 

 and always in the same tone. 



Members of the Parrot Family: Parakeets, which are related to the 

 parrots, vary in size but most of them are small, some no larger 

 than a sparrow. Though parakeets can also learn to talk, it is not 

 so easy to understand them, for they speak very rapidly and in 

 high-pitched voices. Distinguishing between the parrots and the 

 parakeets is something of a problem, as there is no sharp dividing 

 line between the two groups. All of them are birds of the forest; 

 they are poor walkers but good fliers and climbers; all eat fruit 

 and seeds. 



Other relatives are the macaws (largest and most brightly 

 colored of the family) , cockatoos, cockateels, lories, lorikeets, 

 conures, and the interestingly named lovebirds, noted for their 

 affectionate nature. The Amazon parrot is a popular cage bird, 

 especially the species with blue markings on its face. It is a very 

 efficient talker, though the African gray parrot is considered the 

 champion in this respect. 



How Birds Began 



Sometimes children are even more fascinated by the remote 

 and somewhat mysterious past than by the wonders they see 

 around them. So, do not be surprised if your air-minded son or 

 daughter turns to you with such questions as, "When did birds 

 start to fly?" and, "Why?" 



THE FLYING REPTILES 



Fortunately, and in a way that seems almost miraculous, 

 scientists have looked back over the ages and reconstructed an 

 understandable picture of life as it went on long before history 



