) I'M;KOT. 



B91 



..|.|-r ,,art ,,f the bra* there i. a collar of yellow, and . ,,1, thb, exception, the whole 



a-, ,,,,-k. >,ac k . ,,. .,, a u io , n ,, n an . ri( ,, Mw)et Tht . wh ^BVS 



10 v "'", " ' h l *a <>'" "nder wing-cow* The f eather. of tiMtail are rich , 

 at .h...r I**, and eud, f,,,.,,, is baaded near Itoeitwnity with Wack ' 

 b* Phe feather, ,,f t he thigh are aure. The hill b y ,,f nw . m, a 

 rat ,,- narrow towards the tip. In .pite of it. .h,,rt tail. .|,U |, in | ,n.umi abt 

 "i.-l., m length, o that it IB very much hu^vr than the praonli..*; -*|cie. 



1 *rroto constitute a group which are urily reoognbed by their abort ,ami 



UN. . abeence of any crBBt upon the head, an.l tl,,- t.-tl.ededge- ,,f ,|,,. u,,,^ n.Hn.liM,.. 



belong to thia group, of which we shall find three examples in th, f,,lh,wing 



r "~* >- 



THK GRAT PARROT has long been celebrated for it* wonderful power* ..f in.itation an.l it.s 



BOelh-ni ni'-m. ii \ 



It is a native of Western Africa, and is one of the common.*! inlmhitiiniM ..f ,, lir aviaries, 

 being brought over in great 

 numbers by sailors, and always 

 tin. ling a ready sale as soon as 

 ill.- \.-x-,..! arrives in |.,,rt. 1 ,, 

 fortunately the nautical vocal Hi- 

 lary is none of the most refin.-.!. 

 and the sailors have a malicious 

 pleasure in teaching the birds t<> 

 repeat some of the most st;irt 

 ling of their phrases. The wort 

 uf the matter is, that the Par- 

 nit's memory is wonderfully t. 

 nacious, and even after the lapse 

 f years, and in spite of the most 

 moral training, the bird is apt 

 to break out suddenly with a 

 string of very reprehensible ob- 

 servations affecting the eyes, 

 limbs, and general persons of his 

 hearers. 



There is no doubt that the 

 Parrot learnn in course of time 

 to attach some amount of mean- 

 ing to the words which it repeats, 

 for the instances of its apposite 

 answers are too numerous and 

 convincing not to prove that the 

 bird knows the general sense of 

 the phrase, if not the exact force 

 of each word. 



I am unwilling to reproduce narratives which I have already published, and therefore 

 restrict myself to one or two original anecdotes. 



There was a Parrot belonging to a friend of our family, a Portuguese gentleman. This 

 Parrot was a great favorite in the house, and being accustomed equally to the company of its 

 owner and the rest of the household, was familiar with Portuguese M well M English words 

 aii-1 phrases. The bird evidently had the power of appreciating the distinction between the 

 two language-. fr if it w, -re addressed, its reply would always be in the language employed. 



"I'll.- l-iri I. -arn, -.1 .-, Portuguese song about itself and its manifold perfections, the words 

 of which I cannot renieml>er. Hut it would not sing HUH song if nskr.l - in the 





OBATFARBOT. 



