CUBAN PARROT. 103 



of the Grey Parrot in every respect." An opinion shared in by 

 Dr. Euss, who, nevertheless, is a keen admirer of the Cuban, and 

 gives it credit for every excellence it really possesses. 



Parrots in Captivity is scarcely the place for a long dissertation on 

 the habits of the Cuban species in its free state, or we could quote 

 an interesting article by Dr. Grundlach; we may, however, extract a 

 few lines to the effect that the young are frequently taken from the 

 nest and brought up by hand; when they are more highly esteemed 

 than those that have been captured when full grown, as the former 

 are more docile, and learn to speak with greater readiness. 



These birds are also said by the same writer to be very destructive 

 in gardens and orchards, and particularly so in the case of the cocoa 

 palm, of which they nibble the central shoot, and thus destroy the 

 tree. It is no wonder, therefore, that they are terribly persecuted by 

 the planters, without however, as yet, any appreciable diminution of 

 their numbers being effected; for Cuba is a large island, in which 

 the Parrots find many safe retreats, where they can continue the species 

 unmolested, at least by man. 



They are very gregarious, and when one of a flock has been shot, or 

 wounded, the rest fly round it, uttering shrill cries, utterly regardless 

 of the danger to which they are exposing themselves; so that the 

 hunter is often able to kill a large number of them before the survivors 

 appear to become conscious of the peril, and to seek their safety in 

 flight ; the instinct of self-preservation asserting at last the mastery over 

 more tender considerations. 



It seems to us horribly cruel to take advantage of a creature's 

 affection for its fellows to compass its destruction ; but bowels of mercy 

 are unknown to the colonist, whose crops have been damaged; or to 

 a hunter, or sportsman on the look-out for prey, and especially so 

 when he is anxious to ff make a good bag." 



Of late years these birds have not unfrequently appeared at Bird 

 Shows. Thus we have seen them at the Crystal Palace, the Aquarium, 

 and the Albert Palace; and they have also been exhibited at several 

 provincial shows, where, however, they do not seem to find favour 

 with the " Judges ;" many of whom resent the appearance of anything 

 that is new to them, and will pass by the finest and rarest specimens 

 in favour of some old, we might say hackneyed, species, that has 

 probably become endeared to them by long association. Shows, never- 

 theless, are of much benefit to amateurs, as they enable them to see 

 birds that they would most likely not have fallen in with elsewhere. 

 The one drawback, from our point of view at all events, being the 

 high, in many cases prohibitive prices, asked by the owner of exhibits. 



