F. D. Welch—An Amusing Amazon, and also a Parrakeet 57


my relatives, which I understood to have been many years before it

was first seen by me ; but it seemed to me as the most likely explanation

that it had been captured when quite a nestling, and therefore never

remembered distinctly seeing others of its own species, in which case

it seemed to me the sexual affection would be more shown than with

Amazons which see each other frequently.


Be this as it may, it was an interesting scene to watch, and usually

continued for about a minute, at the end of which time it apparently

dawned on the Amazon’s brain that the supposed companion was not

inclined for flirtation, as it usually left the window suddenly and resumed

its walks in no very amiable mind towards human beings for a while !

The only other of the tribe which it saw during its life there was a Ring¬

necked Parrakeet (Palceornis torquata), with which it was not on friendly

terms, so the two were never let out of their cages at the same time. The

Parrakeet was, by the way, a remarkably distinct talker and mimic,

calling “ Puss, puss, puss ” so as to deceive the kitchen cat, which

thought (as I saw myself) it was the cook calling for it to give it food ;

and it also frequently deceived a maid called “ Sarah ” by calling her

when she had left the room where it used to live.


The Amazon, on the other hand, used only to call in a monotonous

bass voice at sunset regularly, and occasionally in early morning as

well. When out of its cage it used to frequently enter beneath the

grate, where a fire was burning at the time, and pull out bits of cinder

and eat them, which I suppose acted in a similar way to the small

stones eaten by domestic fowls and others of that order.


It would not, however, take any notice of cinders taken out for it

by myself or others in the house, but ignored such with contempt!

It was a wonder that the bird never got its plumage damaged by hot

cinders falling from the fire above it, and it dodged in an out from the

grate in a most skilful way.


I may add, in conclusion, that the Amazon and Parrakeet above

mentioned were regularly watered from overhead with a watering-can

and fine-rosed nozzle in hot weather with ordinary tap-water, and left

in sunshine out of doors to dry, care being taken, of course, to avoid

draught.



