AURORA PARROT. 



' 507 



swce the King. He sang all the verses of it, but 

 every now and then wandered back into the Banks 

 of the. Dee, which seemed his favourite. After- 

 wards he sung the hundredth Psalm ^ and one or 

 two Scotch songs the names of which I forget. I 

 think in the whole he sung six different songs, all 

 with words to them. He did not sing them all 

 entirely through, but seemed as if he could have 

 done it had he been quite in good humour. Col. 

 O* Kelly told us that he knew about twenty songs, 

 and, from what I saw and heard, I can readily be- 

 lieve it* Ices and cakes were brought to the com- 

 pany. A teaspoon with cream ice in it was given 

 to the bird. He took it in one foot, standing on 

 his perch on the other, held it up to his bill, and 

 supped it up gently, looking round and talking at 

 intervals to the company in a most singular 

 manner, and with an air of intelligence quite sur- 

 prising. While thus employed, somebody pushed 

 him with a finger ; he turned quick round and said 

 in an angry tone DonU throxo me doivn. Col. 

 O' Kelly told us that his power of catching sounds 

 was quite astonishing: that when a newspaper had 

 been read aloud in his presence, the Colonel, on 

 coming into the room half an hour after, had, as 

 he opened the door, been convinced by the sound 

 that the same person was still reading aloud, and 

 had been scarce able to believe that it was the 

 Parrot repeating to himself inarticulate sounds pre- 

 cisely in the tone and manner of the reader. He 

 also delighted in imitating the Puppet-shows that 

 exhibit in the streets. This is all I can distinctly 

 remember of this very extraordinary bird." 



