THE PARROTS 113 



Here in England the Parrot is almost invariably a 

 cage-bird, though a perch and tray and a chain fastened 

 round one leg are often substituted for the cage. But it 

 should be remembered that attempts have been made to 

 acclimatize this gorgeous stranger from sunnier lands. 

 Strangely enough the coldness of our country during the 

 winter months does not seem to have spoiled the experi- 

 ment ; none of the species seem to have minded the cold. 

 The scheme was nearly always spoiled by other things — - 

 " high winds, destructive guns, hawks, and possibly starva- 

 tion." 



That was the report made by one who made the 

 experiment and gave it a fair trial — the late Mr. Charles 

 Buxton. At his country-house at Northrepps, in Norfolk, 

 he used to fix up boxes in his trees to tempt them to make 

 nests and bring up families. In five instances the nestlings 

 were safely reared and fledged. It was, he says, a charming 

 sight to see these beautiful plumaged creatures "flying 

 about, always together, and living on the most loving 

 terms." 



But he had to confess that the experiment was " heart- 

 breaking work." For they had a habit of straying away 

 from their owner's woods, where they were safe, to distant 

 plantations where the gamekeepers, full of surprise and 

 curiosity, shot them and then — wondered where they had 

 come from. Also any boisterous wind soon swept them 

 before it, and park palings could not prevent this. 



We read that pet birds would come home to him 

 severely wounded. " On one occasion a flock of Parrots 

 fled to a place named Brooke, full twenty five miles 

 away, and eleven of them were shot by a keeper who 

 naturally thought he had secured a wonderful prize. 

 Afterwards five Cockatoos were shot together in the same 



