154 PARROT. 



favourite, the man insisted that he ought to have a reward 

 more equal to his services than to his trouble ; and, as 

 the parrot had proposed twenty pounds, he said that his 

 majesty was bound in honour to grant it. The king 

 agreed to leave it to the parrot's determination; which 

 the bird hearing, cried out, " give the knave a groat !" 



Parrots of different varieties are prodigiously numerous 

 in the tropical climates. The forests swarrn with them ; 

 and the beauty of their plumage, though not their dis- 

 agreeable natural voice, adds a degree of vivacity to the 

 loveliest scenes. 



There are several peculiarities in the conformation of 

 these birds, that deserve notice. They have all two toes 

 before, and two behind, which they use in a singular 

 manner, in walking or eating. For the former purpose 

 they stretch out two of their toes forward and two back- 

 ward ; but when they want to bring any thing to their 

 bills, they dexterously turn the great hind-toe forward, 

 so as to gain a firmer grasp of what they are going to 

 devour. 



The bill is formed in a still more curious manner ; the 

 upper chap as well as the lower being moveable. By this 

 means they can open their bills wider, and with more fa- 

 cility admit their food, which, from the formation of the 

 upper mandible, would be difficult if only one of them 

 had motion. 



The tongue of the parrot somewhat resembles the 

 human ; which, in the opinion of some writers, qualifies 

 it so well to imitate the voice of man ; but the organs by 

 which the sounds are articulated lie much farther down in 

 the throat. 



Though the parrot is commonly domesticated in Eu- 

 rope, it will not breed here on account of the cold. It 

 indeed can survive our coldest winters, but both its spirits 

 and appetites are visibly affected by severe weather. It 

 then becomes torpid and inactive, and seems quite changed 

 from that bustling loquacious bird which it appears be- . 

 neath a more genial sky. Nevertheless, with proper at- 



