46 GOLDEN P ABBOT. 



But after all " handsome is that handsome does/' the Golden 

 Conure, or Parrot, is not gifted with a melodious voice, but is, on the 

 contrary, master of one of the most piercing skrieks that can distress 

 a sensitive ear, and, worst fault of all, it will not learn to imitate the 

 human voice, let its fair owner charm it never so wisely with sweet 

 sounds ; but on the other hand it becomes very tame in captivity, 

 and is possessed of the most endearing ways; it will climb on to 

 the shoulder of its owner with winning confidence, and coo pleasantly 

 in her ear, which it will gently kiss with its pinky white and rather 

 large bill ; nor unless excessively provoked, will it dream of using the 

 latter upon even its most aggravating tormentor or relentless foe. 



Bright citron yellow is the general colour of the adult bird, but as 

 in the case of the Hawk-headed Parrot and some others, the plumage 

 appears to assume different shades according to the relative position 

 of the spectator and the Parrot with regard to the light, as well as 

 to the brilliancy or deficiency of the latter. In our gloomy English 

 climate, for instance, the Golden Oonure does not show to the same 

 advantage as in its own country, where the sunlight has a warmth 

 and intensity of which the dweller in these islands can form no 

 adequate conception; but still in spite of all our climatic drawbacks, 

 it is a bird to be remembered when seen, and when possessed " a 

 thing of beauty and a joy/' therefore "for ever.-" 



Eich golden yellow, citron yellow, orange even, according to the 

 light that plays upon it, and the position of the beholder, is, as 

 we have said, the general colour of this remarkable and very rare 

 bird, but the flight feathers of the wings are dark grass green 

 forming a curious and by no means unpleasing contract to the rest 

 of the plumage. The eyes are orange yellow with a shade of brown, 

 and the legs and feet a pinky flesh colour. 



Known to naturalists for a long time, it was accurately described 

 by Buffon, with whom it does not appear to have been a favourite, 

 for he says : " It does not learn to speak (which is correct,) it is 

 melancholy and misanthropical/' which is surely a libel upon an 

 attractive and most engaging bird, and must have been the result 

 of his observations upon an ailing specimen of the race. " At the 

 same time/' he admits, "its beautiful plumage is a recommendation 

 in its favour, and it is very easilv tamed," a gracious admission which 

 we can entirely endorse. 



The Golden Parrot is not of very common occurrence in its native 

 country. Wallace met with it but seldom, and then only when the 

 rice crops were about to be harvested, and on one occasion only did 

 he encounter a small party of five, which were probably the parents 



