age, as but few birds become fo docile, or are fo capable of 
inftru£lion 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 arc not in immediate want ; 
they readily learn to repeat words, and to imitate founds, 
which they do with aftonifhing exa£lnefs, fuch as the fetting 
of a faw, the turning of a knifegrinder's wheel, and the 
noife made by m oft of our common domeftic quadrupeds ; we 
have heard it afferted, that they will in their wild ftate 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 inftances 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 almoft white, and afterwards regained its common 
plumage ; we have been informed of a neft taken in Lincoln- 
fhire that contained feveral young ones, and among them were 
two or three entirely white. 
