age, as but few birds become fo docile, or are fo capable of 

 inftruftion when full grown as when taken young, and when 

 confined young, they but feldom attain their ufual fize. 



When domefticated they are very familiar and mifchievous, 

 frequently fecreting pieces of money, trinkets, and even 

 fpoons ; they moftly have fome favourite hiding-place, to 

 which they carry any thing of this kind they can get hold of, 

 alfo any of their food of which they are not in immediate want ; 

 they readily learn to repeat words, and to imitate founds, 

 which they do with aftoniming exactnefs, fuch as the fetting 

 of a faw, the turning of a knifegrinder's wheel, and the 

 noife made by moft of our common domeflic quadrupeds ; we 

 have heard it afferted, that they will in their wild {late imitate 

 the call of fmall birds, to induce them to come within their 

 reach, and on which they prey. 



Thefe birds are frequently to be feen (in a wild ftate) nearly 

 white ; we have known feveral infcances where this deviation 

 from the ufual colour has taken place in confinement ; in one 

 inftance, the bird after being kept in a cage for feveral years, 

 became aimed white, and afterwards regained its common 

 plumage ; we have been informed of a neft taken in Lincoln- 

 shire that contained feveral young ones, and among them were 

 two or three entirely white. 



