THE PARROT, 2S7 



King Henry the Seventh, \vho then resided in his pa- 

 lace at Westminster, had learned many words and 

 phrases from the passengers who took the water near 

 that place. Sporting one day on his perch, the poor 

 bird had the misfortune to fall into the Thames. He 

 immediately called out as loud as he was able, " A 

 boat, twenty pounds for a boat !" A waterman, hear- 

 ing the parrot's liberal offer, made to the place where 

 the parrot was floating, and. took him up. The man, 

 kaovring the bird to be a favorite, insisted on the full 

 reward it had promised, and agreed, that the matter 

 should be left to its decision; which the parrot hear- 

 .ing, cried out " Give the knave a groat." 



Linnaeus makes forty-seven, and Latham near a 

 -hundred arid fifty species of this beautiful and sagaci- 

 ous bird; but probably no naturalist has enumerated 

 'One half of its varieties. The distinguishing charac- 

 teristics, however, of the whole tribe, are, that the 

 beak is hooked, and the upper, as well as the lower 

 mandible, moveable; the nostrils placed at the bot- 

 tom of the beak; the tongue fleshy and obtuse; and 

 the feet furnished with two toes before, and two be- 

 hind, calculated for the purpose of climbing and 

 clinging to trees. 



Notwithstanding the endless varieties found in this 

 numerous tribe of birds, they are generally divided 

 into four classes; the macaw, which is considerably 

 the largest, and nearly equal to the raven in size; the 

 -parrot, properly so called; the lories, which are less 

 than the parrot; and, lastly* the parroquet, which ^is 

 the least of all, and of which some varieties are not 

 larger than the common sparrow. Between these 

 species the difference is rather in size than conforma- 

 tion; and they have all the same general habits:. 



In the tropical climates they are exceeding numer- 

 ous. The forests swarm with their different varieties-.; 

 and the vivid colours of their plumage are an addi- 

 tional ornament to the luxuriance of vegetation under 

 these genial skies-, and. give an air of vivacity to the 

 scene. Nothing in nature, indeed, can have a more 

 .-beautiful appearance than forests of lofty trees, cloth- 

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