§3



PARROT NOTES.


By the Hon. and Rev. F. G. Dutton.


Continued from page 46.


AMAZONS (Continued).


The next class of Amazons (z. e., the medium sized)

contains some of the best talkers, not only amongst Amazons,

but amongst Parrots.


The largest of them—one almost large enough to go into

the first class—is the Golden-naped Amazon, Chrysotis auro-

pctlliata. This bird is certainly larger than Devaillant’s. Its

size, according to the British Museum Catalogue, is 14 inches

total length, wing 9 inches, tail 4.7 inches ; as against 15 inches

total length for C. farinosa, 16 inches for C. bouqtieti, 19 inches

for C. augusta , and 17 inches for C. guildingi. Its colour is

green, but the head, upper tail-coverts, and under parts are much

lighter. Its distinctive marks—by which one can always know

it—are the black hairy feathers round the nostrils. These are

seen in the young, whereas the golden nape is not only missing in

the young, but sometimes never appears at all. Whether this has

anything to do with sex I do not know, but I certainly think

that a very pronounced yellow nape bespeaks a cock bird. The

bird is a quick learner if it be taken young, but I cannot say that

I believe in Amazons caught old learning to talk. I have only

once seen a Grey Parrot which never said a word, but I have

seen several Golden-napes and Double-fronts which never did.

But get a young Golden-nape, and I incline to think you will

find it quite as clever as the Double-fronted.


But they differ in powers of learning. They are not very

common, and particularly not the young ones, so that I have not

had experience of more than three or four. One I bought,

ready taught, from France : it said the usual French sentences

and was sold as singing a song, but that it did not do. I do not

think it learnt anything fresh when with me, but I am not able

to give much time to the birds, so that is not much proof that it

would not learn. Then I bought two at Jamrach’s some three

years ago. There were some seven young ones, and I picked

out two, which I looked on as cock and hen. Whether they

were so or not, I do not know ; but the one I set down as the

cock learnt much more quickly than the other, and as all my

experience goes to show that as a rule sex does make a great

difference in a bird’s talking powers, I believe that I had picked

-out a cock and hen. But my best talker came to an untimely



