THE PARROT. 



115 



tribe more, the upper cha.p is connected to the 

 bone of the head by a strong membrane, 

 placed on each side, that lifts and depresses it 

 at pleasure. By this contrivance they can 

 open their bills the wider; which is not a 

 little useful, as the upper chap is so hooked 

 and so over-hanging, that, if the lower chap 

 only had motion, they could scarcely gape 

 sufficiently to take any thing in for their 

 nourishment. 



Such are the uses of the beak and the toes, 

 when used separately ; but they are often em- 

 ployed both together, when the bird is exer- 

 cised in climbing. As these birds cannot 

 readily hop from bough to bough, their legs 

 not being adapted for that purpose, they use 

 both the beak and the feet ; first catching 

 hold vsith the beak, as if with a hook, then 

 drawing up the legs and fastening them, then 

 advancing the head and beak again, and so 

 putting forward the body and feet alternate- 

 ly, till they attain the height they aspire to. 



The tongue of this bird somewhat resem- 

 bles that of a man ; for which reason some 

 pretend that it is so well qualified to imitate 

 the human speech ; but the organs by which 

 these sounds are articulated lie farther down 

 in the throat, being performed by the great 

 motion which the as Jiy aides has in these birds 

 above others. 



The parrot, though common enough in 

 Europe, will not, however, breed here. The 

 climate is too cold for its warm constitution ; 

 and though it bears our winter when arrived 

 at maturity, yet it always seems sensible of 

 its rigour, and loses both its spirit and appe- 

 tiie during the colder part of the season. It 

 then becomes torpid and inactive, and seems 

 quite changed from that bustling loquacious 

 animal which it appeared in its native forest, 

 where it is almost ever upon the wing. Not- 

 withstanding, the parrot lives even with us a 

 considerable time, if it be properly attended 

 to ; and indeed, it must be owned, that it em- 

 ploys but too great a part of some people's 

 attention. 



The extreme sagacity and docility of the 

 bird may plead as the best excuse for those 

 who spend whole hours in teaching their par- 

 rots to speak; and, indeed, the bird, on those 

 occasions, seems the wisest animal of the two. 

 It at first obstinately resists all instruction ; but 

 seems to be won by perseverance, makes a 

 few attempts to imitate the first sounds, and 

 when it has got one word distinct, all the suc- 

 ceeding come with greater facility. The bird 

 generally learns most in those families where 

 the master or mistress have the least to do ; 

 and becomes more expert, in proportion as its 

 instructors are idly assiduous. In going 

 through the towns of France some time since, 

 I could not help observing how much plainer 



their parrots spoke than ours, and how very 

 distinctly I understood their parrots speak 

 French, when I could not understand our 

 own, though they spoke my native language. 

 I was at first for ascribing it to the different 

 qualities of the two languages, and was for 

 entering into an elaborate discussion on the 

 vowels and consonants: but a friend that was 

 with me solved the difficulty at once, by as- 

 suring me that the French women scarcely 

 did any thing else the whole day than sit and 

 instruct their feathered pupils ; and that the 

 birds were thus distinct in their lessons in, con- 

 sequence of continual schooling. 



The parrots of France are certainly very 

 expert, but nothing to those of the Brazils, 

 where the education of a parrot is considered 

 as a very serious aifair. The history of Prince 

 Maurice's parrot, given us by Mr Locke, is 

 too well known to be repeated here ; but 

 Clusius assures us that the parrots of that 

 country are the most sensible and cunning of 

 all animals not endued with reason. The 

 great parrot, called the aicuroits, the head of 

 which is adorned with yellow, red, and violet, 

 the body green, the ends of the wings red, the 

 feathers of the tail long and yellow; this bird, 

 he asserts, which is seldom brought into Eu- 

 rope, is a prodigy of understanding. " A 

 certain Brazilian woman, that lived in a vil- 

 lage two miles distant from the island on 

 which we resided, had a parrot of this kind 

 which was the wonder of the place. It seemed 

 endued with such understanding as to discern 

 and comprehend whatever she said to it. As 

 we sometimes used to pass by that woman's 

 house, she used to call upon us to stop, promis- 

 ing, if we gave her a comb, or a looking-glass, 

 that she would make her parrot sing and dance 

 to entertain us. If we agreed to her request, 

 as soon as she had pronounced some words to 

 the bird, it began not only to leap and skip on 

 the perch on which it stood, but also to talk 

 and to whistle, and imitate the shoutings and 

 exclamations of the Brazilians when they pre- 

 pare for battle. In brief, when it came into 

 the woman's head to bid it sing, it sang; to 

 dance, it danced. But if, contrary to our pro. 

 mise, we refused to give the woman the little 

 present agreed on, the parrot seemed to sym- 

 pathize in her resentment, and was silent and 

 immovable ; neither could we, by any means, 

 provoke it to move either foot or tongue." 



This sagacity, which parrots show in a do- 

 mestic state, seems also natural to them in 

 their native residence among the woods. Thev 

 live together in flocks, and naturally assist 

 each other against other animals, either by 

 their courage or their notes of warning. They 

 generally breed in hollow trees, where they 

 make a round hole, and do not line their nests 

 within. If they find any part of a tree be- 



