2 HAWK-HEADED P ABBOT. 



house appearing to be sufficient to maintain it in health and comfort. 



It is frugal in its diet, and prefers hemp seed to any other kind 

 of foot, but will eat fruit, biscuits, sugar and bread, and a change 

 of diet on these lines is conducive to maintaining the bird in health. 



When " Pinto", as the writer has named his bird after the Portu- 

 guese gentleman who very kindly presented it to him, first arrived 

 after a long journey in an open cage on a very cold winter's day, he 

 was shivering, seemed very ill, and kept on repeating incessantly, in 

 a loud and reproachful tone, "check, check, check", as if pitying him- 

 self and his condition exceedingly. The warmth of the room to which 

 he was at once transferred, and some fresh food of which he partook 

 freely, soon restored him to what has since been ascertained to be his 

 normal state of equanimity, and he speedily composrd himself to sleep; 

 emitting every now and then a little self-congratulatory chuckle that 

 sounded extremely droll. 



Needless to say that "Pinto" soon became a prime favourite with 

 every member of the family, and was allowed almost perfect liberty, 

 of which, however, he was somewhat slow in availing himself at first, 

 as he had not the least idea of flying, though provided by Nature 

 with a pair of long, broad, and seemingly strong wings. He soon gained 

 confidence though, can now fly anywhere, and is fond of using his 

 powers of flight, but puffs a good deal when he settles down again 

 after one of these aerial expeditions. 



When he first arrived among us he could not speak at all, but 

 repeated continually the sound made by clicking the tongue against 

 the roof of the mouth, which we have endeavoured to express by the 

 words "check, check, check"; but he soon acquired other accomplish- 

 ments, and astonished us all one day very much by repeating, though 

 of course, in a louder key, the song of a Canary that was kept in 

 the room with him. His next feat was to imitate with wonderful 

 fidelity the crying of a young child, and after that he began to pick 

 up words, and now says, "Little boy", "Pretty Poll", and other short 

 phrases, each of which he prefaces with the interjections "Ah! ha!" 

 He always salutes the writer in the morning with the exclamation, 

 "Ah! ha! Papa!" an observation he never addresses to any other 

 person. He also laughs in the most natural manner possible. 



He knows his name, "Pinto", perfectly well, and always answers to 

 it; he generally salutes a stranger with the interrogative monosyllable 

 "Well?" adding occasionally his favourite exclamation, "check, check, 

 check!" If he does not like the new comer, he raises his wonderful 

 ruff, expands his tail, and drawing himself up to his full height, dances 

 on his perch, and presents altogether so weird and uncanny an appear- 



