PAEEOTS. 



463 



their prison. Thej' Lave been known to pluck and even tear them- 

 selves in these paroxj^sms. Supplying them with a plaything is 

 the only means of keeping tliem quiet under such, circumstances. 



These Climbers are endowed with remarkable longevity. The 

 " Memorandums of the Academy of Sciences of Paris " mention a 

 Parrot that lived in the family of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, in 

 Florence, more than a hundred and ten years. Vieillot speaks of 



Fig. ld.5. — Uinged Parnikeet {l^akEoriiU torquatit.^, ^''g-). 



havino- seen one near Bordeaux which was eighty-four years of 

 ao-e. The average length of their life cannot, however, be exactly 

 ascertained. 



Parrots rarely breed in Europe ; it is true they often lay, but 

 the eo-o-s are sterile. A few instances have been known in 

 France where, under favourable circumstances, they have per- 

 petuated their species. Generally all that we see in our tem- 

 perate regions are brought from countries where the majority 

 have been taken from the nest. Different means are employed 

 to capture the adults, all of which have for their aim to stun 

 them for an instant, in order to paralyse their movements. 



