536 



SWIXDERN'S LOVE-BIKD. 



banks of the Amazon. It is not, however, so retiring in its habits as that bird, and will 

 often leave the woods for the sake of preying upon the orange plantations, among which 

 it works great havoc. Its nest is made in the decayed trunks of trees. 



As a general fact, it is not so apt at learning and repeating phrases as the Grey Parrot, 

 but I have known more than one instance where its powers of speech could hardly be 

 exceeded, and very seldom rivalled. One of these birds which used to live in a little 



garden into which my window 

 looked, was, on our first entrance 

 into the house, the cause of much 

 perplexity to ourselves and the 

 servants. The nurserymaid's name 

 was Sarah, and the unfortunate 

 girl was continually running up 

 and down stairs, fancying herself 

 called by one of the children in 

 distress. The voice of the Parrot 

 was just that of a child, and it 

 would call Sarah in every imagin- 

 able tone, varying from a mere 

 enunciation of the name as if in 

 conversation, to angry remon- 

 strances, petulant peevishness, or 

 sudden terror. 



Even after we had been well 

 accustomed to the bird, we were 

 often startled by the sharp cry 

 of " Sarah ! Sa-rah, Sa . . . rah ! " 

 Presently it would cry, " Sarah, 

 lay the cloth ; " and after a while, 

 " Sarah, why dont you lay the 

 oloth?" always contriving to get 

 the name of that domestic into 

 its sentences. 



The end of the poor bird was 

 rather tragic. It was the pro- 

 perty of a very irritable master, 

 from whom the angry cries for 

 Sarah were probably learned. He 

 was very fond of his Parrot, but 

 one day in playing with her, he 

 teased her so far beyond her 

 patience, that she bit his finger, 

 whereupon, in a fit of passion, he 

 seized her by the neck and dashed 



SWINDERN'S LOVE.BIRD.-dc^ SwindernWna. j^ Qn the ^^ gQ j^ ^ 



she died on the spot. 



From the Festive Parrot it 



may easily be distinguished, not 



only for its lesser size, it being barely twelve inches in length, but by the different 

 arrangement of the colouring. The whole of the cheeks, chin, and the angles at the 

 base of the bill are yellow, the forehead is deep blue-purple, and the feathers of the back 

 of the head and nape of the neck are green, edged with black. When the bird is angry, 

 it raises these feathers like a crest. The plumage of the body both above and below is 

 rich green. The tail-feathers are beautifully marked with green, yellow, and red, and 

 the primary feathers of the wings are tinged with green of various qualities, azure, deep 

 brownish red and black. 



