ORDER SCANSORES. 567 



riority over others, and still less to the possession of any thing 

 approaching to the genuine character of human intelligence. 

 Its imitation is nothing but an organic mimicry, depending 

 on the conformation of the voice, and perhaps on some peculiar 

 aptitude of the ear. Besides, as we have already seen in the 

 course of this work, the capacity of articulating words is not 

 exclusively confined to the genus. Pies, jays, blackbirds, 

 stares, and other, even small birds, can imitate human speech 

 more or less, from organic facility, rather than the possession 

 of any very superior intelligence. The ear of such animals, 

 though different from ours, is not without a certain musical 

 justness, and a delicate apprehension of sounds. This correct- 

 ness of ear is observable among certain individuals of our own 

 species, in a much higher degree than in others ; and it is 

 almost superfluous to observe, that neither that, nor a facility 

 of mimicing sounds in general, is always accompanied, in such 

 individuals, with a marked superiority in point of intellect. 

 The reverse, indeed, is often strikingly remarkable. We may 

 remark here by the way, that the species of birds which arti- 

 culate words the best, shew less aptitude in the rendering 

 of modulated sounds. 



Parrots, parrakeets, &c. which are imported into Europe, 

 are generally taken young in the nest, and bi'ought up in 

 their native country. Some are taken adult ; they are caught 

 when inebriated by eating the seed of the cotton-tree, which 

 they are very subject to become, or they are brought down by 

 arrows, which, having a button on the end, stun without kil- 

 ling them. The natives of Paraguay, according to M. 

 d'Azara, take them in a manner which appears very singular, 

 if not incredible. They attach one or two pieces of wood to a 

 tree frequented by these birds for the sake of its fruits. They 

 put a stick or two across from those pieces of wood as far as 

 the tree, and construct with palm-leaves a sort of cabin, suffi- 

 ciently large to conceal the fowler. He has got with him a 



