that's it; 



me laugh so, I shall die ! I shall die ! " and then 

 continues laughing more violently than before. 

 Her crying and sobbing are curious ; and if you 

 say, " Poor Poll, what is the matter ? " she says, 

 " So bad ! so bad ! got such a cold ! " and after 

 crying for some time will gradually cease, and, 

 making a noise like drawing a long breath, say, 

 " Better now," and begin to laugh. It is singular 

 to remark that when, to try her, I have said, 

 "Buy a broom," she would reply, "Buy a brush;" 

 and then laugh as a child might do when mis- 

 chievous. She often performs a kind of exercise, 

 which I do not know how to describe, except by 

 saying that it is like the lance exercise. She 

 puts her claw behind her,~first on one side and 

 then on the other, then in front, and round over 

 her head ; and whilst doing so, keeps saying, 

 " Come on ! come on ! " and when finished says, 

 "Bravo! beautiful!" and draws herself up. 

 Before I was so well acquainted with her as 1 

 am now, she would stare in my face for some 

 time, and then say, " How d'ye do, ma'am ? ' ; 

 this she invariably does to strangers. One 

 day I went into the room where she was, and 

 said, to try her, " Poll, where is Pa) r ne gone ? " 

 and to my astonishment and almost dismay, she 

 said, "Down stairs." When she is affronted in 

 any way, she begins to cry ; and when pleased, 

 to laugh. If any one happens to cough or 

 sneeze, she says, " What a bad cold ! " One day 

 when the children were playing with her, the 

 maid came into the room, and on their repeating 

 to her several things which the parrot had said, 

 Poll looked up and said quite plainly, " No I 

 didn't ! " Sometimes when she is inclined to be 

 mischievous, the maid threatens to beat her, and 



she often says, " No you won't ! " 



She sings j ust like a child : and it is most ridi- 

 culous to hear her make what one would call a 

 false note, and then say, "Oh, la!" and burst 

 out laughing at herself, beginning again in quite 

 another key. She is fond of singing, "Buy a 

 Broom," which she says quite plainly. If we 

 say, with a view to make her repeat it, " Buy 

 a Broom," she obstinately exclaims, " Buy a 

 Brush." 



The author of " That's It" having occasion, 

 while on a visit to Boston to go into a hairdres- 

 ser's shop, was greeted by a fine grey parrot, 

 which said, in a deep tone of voice, " Good morn- 

 ing sir. Fine morning ! Yes, sir, very fine sir." 

 During his stay, the parrot continued to utter 

 numerous sentences, with great distinctness, 

 laughing heartily at those that were jocular, but 

 looking remarkably grave when he said any- 

 thing of serious meaning. Upon leaving, and 

 paying for the hairdresser's services, the parrot 

 exclaimed, " Good day, sir. You're a perfect 

 gentleman I " 



The long-legged 'plover 1, and 

 other stilt, walkers, present a re- 

 markable contrast with swimmers 

 and clivers. The long legs of 

 the waders, as they are called, 

 elevate their bodies above the 

 vegetation of the marshes in 

 which they seek their food. 

 Hence, they are able to stand 



upon a point of elevation, and 

 look down among the rushes for 

 their food in places where they 

 could not possibly swim, and 

 1 



432. 



where they could find no resting- 

 place, were they not provided 

 with natural stilts. 



The white spoonbill, 2, is very 

 generally distributed over the 

 eastern continent, though not in 



2 



433. 



large numbers in any one place. 

 The total length of the full- 



