188 THE PARROT. 



borate discussion on the vowels and consonants ; but a friend 

 that was with me solved the difficulty at once, by assuring 

 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 conse- 

 quence of continual schooling. 



The parrots of France are certainly very expert, but noth- 

 ing to those of the Brazils, where the education of a parrot is 

 considered as a very serious affair. 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 aicu- 

 rouSj 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 Europe, is a prodigy of understanding. "A cer- 

 tain Brasilian woman, that lived in a village 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, promising, 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 ex- 

 clamations of the Brasilians when they prepare 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 promise, 

 we refused to give the woman the little present agreed on, the 

 parrot seemed to sympathize in her resentment, and was silent 

 and immoveable ; neither could we, by any means, provoke 

 it to move either foot or tongue. 



This sagacity, which parrots show in a domestic state,seems 

 also natural to them in their native residence among the 



