IMITATION AND MIMICRY. 337 



pressed, and kept a secret ; but the birds, not know- 

 ing- the difference between modest, immodest, ho- 

 nest, and filthy words, did out with them. The 

 other story was concerning the war which the Em- 

 peror was then threatening against the Protestants, 

 which the bird probably heard from some of the 

 generals that had conferences in the house. These 

 things did they repeat in the night after twelve 

 o'clock, when there was a deep silence ; but in the 

 day-time, for the most part, they were silent, and 

 seemed to do nothing but meditate and revolve with 

 themselves upon what the guests conferred about 

 together as they sat at table, or in their walks. I 

 verily had never believed our Pliny writing so many 

 wonderful things concerning these little creatures, 

 had I not myself seen them with my eyes, and heard 

 them with my ears uttering such things as I have re- 

 lated; neither yet can I of a sudden write all, or call 

 to remembrance every particular that I have heard*." 

 The marvellousness of this story, however, if it 

 be a mere legendary fiction, is somewhat counte- 

 nanced by the well-authenticated accounts of a grey 

 parrot (Psittacus erithacus) which belonged to Co- 

 lonel O' Kelly. This extraordinary bird " not only," 

 says Bingley, " repeated a great number of sen- 

 tences, but answered many questions: it was also 

 able to whistle many tunes. It beat time with all 

 the appearance of science ; and so accurate was its 

 judgment, that if by chance it mistook a note, it 

 would revert to the bar where the mistake was made, 

 correct itself, and, still beating regular time, go 

 through the whole with wonderful exactness. Its 

 death was thus announced in the General Evening 

 Post, for the 9th of October, 1802:' A few days 

 ago died, in Half Moon-street, Piccadilly, the cele- 

 brated parrot of Colonel O'Kelly. This singular 

 * Gesner, Ornithologia. 



2 G 



