44° Caxakies and Cage-Birds. 



he, or "she" (as Parrots are usually called "she"), is certainly well known in Europe since the 

 Middle Ages. Volumes of anecdotes about the cleverness, sagacity, linguistic and musical 

 talents of Grey Parrots might be collected. The French explorer and ornithologist, Levaillant, 

 describes a Grey Parrot he found at the house of a lady at Amsterdam at the end of the 

 last century, which bird not only fetched his master's slippers and nightcap at the word 

 of command, but also called the servant and spoke Dutch fluently, which language, according 

 to Levaillant, the Grey Parrot has a special aptitude to learn. Since Levaillant's time Grey 

 Parrots have, however, learnt every European language about equally well, and as every 

 mother's baby is the prettiest darling ever seen, so every pet Grey Parrot is a perfect wonder 

 in the eyes of his owner. There can be no doubt, however, that the Grey Parrot is the 

 most intelligent of all Parrots, and a being gifted with an extraordinary memory and a 

 wonderful talent for mimicking any kind or almost any number of sounds. 



About his life in the wild state we know very little. His nest is supposed to be in the 

 holes of trees in forests difficult of access, and the natives are said to believe that the nests 

 are so hot that any one putting a hand into a nest would burn his fingers. The burnt 

 fingers probably mean a very sharp bite, and read in this way, it becomes perfectly plain 

 that nobody would care to put his hand into a Grey Parrot's nest. 



Those Parrots brought to Europe are generally young birds caught soon after leaving 

 their nest. Until accustomed to captivity and to human society they make a fearful noise, 

 consisting of a continuous grating hoarse scream, which they forget gradually when becoming 

 tame. In times gone by, sailors used to bring one or two Grey Parrots to Europe, which 

 were petted and tamed during the long sea-voyage of sailing-ships. Now, dozens of Grey 

 Parrots are packed like merchandise into any old box and stowed away anywhere on board 

 the steamers without much regard to ventilation or health. As a result, Grey Parrots can 

 be bought in hundreds for less than a sovereign each, but these birds are almost without 

 exception tainted by blood-poisoning, and will regularly die within a few months. I have 

 tried half a dozen apparently healthy young Grey Parrots with every kind of treatment I 

 could think of, and the result has invariably been death within three to six months ; and several 

 German doctors have tried batches of fifty Grey Parrots, applying all known remedies against 

 blood-poisoning without satisfactory results. An acclimatised tame Grey Parrot at the price of 

 ;^S is cheaper than a raw young bird at so many shillings. Young Grey Parrots can easily 

 be distinguished by their grey eyes, the eye of old birds being straw-coloured. Male and 

 female are alike, and both sexes are equally gifted. 



Bufibn (who died in 1788) wrote that some one had bred Grey Parrots in confinement, 

 but beyond this rather vague account of a tame Grey Parrot's propagation, I have heard 

 of no modern instance of success in breeding. Considering the frequent instances of Grey 

 Parrots laying eggs, although kept singly, it ought to be easy to breed them, and cage-bred 

 Grey Parrots would fairly be worth any price in reason. It is marvellous that cage-breeding 

 of foreign birds has never yet been taken up as a business in England. Dozens of 

 aquaria have sprung into existence, where people may see soles and codfish disporting 

 themselves in their native element. The habits of fish are not nearly so interesting 

 as those of birds, and for one private aquarium there are hundreds of private aviaries. 

 A large well-arranged aviary, in which the life and habits of birds in their natural state 

 could be observed, would be one of the prettiest sights, and would interest thousands. 

 Breeding and acclimatising foreign cage-birds for sale would afford a source of large profits if 

 properly managed. Zoological gardens can scarcely be expected to do much in this direction, 



