ii6 THE BOOK OF BIRDS 



Boys and girls who have charge of a caged Parrot should 

 remember this love of water. Also, it must never be 

 forgotten, that though these birds do not drink very freely, 

 it is sheer cruelty to give them nothing to drink. Juicy 

 food is not enough ; the water-tin should be filled up daily 

 with clean water. 



Their habit of twisting and turning about, swinging 

 from their perch, hanging head downwards, turning somer- 

 saults, and the like, was once thought to be simply a 

 restless trick to pass the time — something learned in 

 captivity only. But travellers who have studied bird-life 

 in such places as the forests of Central and South America, 

 tell us that the wild Parrots may be seen going through 

 just the same exercises, in their leafy solitudes. 



The members of the Parrot family differ not only in 

 shape and colour and in habits, but also in diet. The 

 greater number are fruit and seed-eaters ; they love such 

 fare as the pulp of bananas and lemons, also almonds, ripe 

 walnuts, fir-cones, and certain berries. But others are 

 honey-eaters, and at least one, the hook-billed Kea of New 

 Zealand, is a flesh-eater. 



Now, before passing on to speak of the Cockatoos and 

 the Parrakeets, let me say a few words about two or three 

 Parrots in particular. 



The GREY PARROT is one of the best known. With 

 his ashen grey dress and deep red tail he is a sufiiciently 

 handsome fellow, but he is valued chiefly for his talking 

 powers. He is a native of Africa, and large numbers of his 

 species are brought by sailors and by traders to Europe. 



Innumerable stories are told of his cleverness, his 

 memory, and his quickness of observation. He is a Parrot 

 with a brain, and some of the quite sensible sentences, 

 which he will repeat in the most natural voice, sound 



