QUAKER PAEBAKEET. 33 



certainly cannot be recommended for its figure, which is clumsy in the 

 extreme; the large head and thick neck being made to look larger 

 still by the habit of keeping the feathers on these parts ruffed up, 

 after the manner of the domestic cat when it puffs out the hairy 

 covering of its tail. 



In captivity, that is to say in a cage, these Parrakeets will learn 

 to speak a little, but their unbearable cries, in which they frequently 

 indulge, are simply insupportable. 



A lady of our acquaintance was possessed of a splendid Grey 

 Parrot, a beloved and highly accomplished bird, which was the delight 

 of his mistress, and well deserved the care and attention she was 

 never weary of lavishing upon it; one day, however, a friend presented 

 her with one of these wretched birds which, the moment it was re- 

 leased from its travelling box, commenced to pour forth a series of the 

 most appalling shrieks, an accomplishment of which these Parrakeets 

 are perfect masters; and the Grey Parrot caught up the hideous sounds, 

 and has repeated them at intervals ever since; much to the dismay 

 of the lady who owns it, and the other members of the house- 

 hold; and that although the offending " Quaker" was speedily sent 

 away. 



It is curious that when at liberty, or comparative liberty, in an out- 

 door avairy, these birds should very seldom scream, but so it is, and 

 the aviary out of doors would appear to be their more suitable des- 

 tination; since they are quieter there, and being perfectly hardy, the 

 aviarist need not fear that the cold will do them any harm. On the 

 contrary, their plumage is much improved by the change from the cage 

 and house; and wears a kind of bloom that is in vain looked for 

 in-doors. Nor is this remarkable since the home of this bird is in 

 the western parts of South America, Paraguay, the Argentine Confed- 

 eration, and Bolivia; where it is found on the mountain ranges at an 

 elevation of from three to four thousand feet above the sea level. 



Bechstein, among other writers, credits the Grey-breasted Parrakeet 

 with the faculty of imitating human speech; and Gibson, a traveller in 

 its native land, speaks of having heard wild birds of this species 

 crying "Pretty Poll!" as they passed by in their rapid undulating- 

 flight from their feeding grounds; which by the way to us appears 

 to be a somewhat hazardous flight of that author's imagination. 

 "Often/' he writes, "in passing through the forest, I heard, to my 

 astonishment, a bird of this species crying hoarsely "Pretty Poll!" 

 We presume it was the Spanish equivalent of "Pretty Poll" that Gibson 

 heard them say, but further comment is superfluous. 



Dr. Willink, of Utretcht, a great admirer of the Grey-breasted 



III. D 



