392 
THE GRAY PARROT. 
English language. Sainted in Portuguese, it would answer in the same language, but was 
never known to confuse the two tongues together. Towards dinner-time it always became 
very excited, and used to call to the servant whenever she was late, “Sarah, lay the cloth, 
—want my dinner!” which sentence it would repeat with great volubility, and at the top 
of its voice. 
But as soon as its master’s step was heard outside the house, its tone changed, for the 
loud voice was disagreeable to its owner, who used to punish it for screaming by flipping 
its beak. So Polly would get off the perch, very humbly sit on the bottom of the cage, put its 
head to the floor, and instead of shouting for its dinner in the former imperious tone, would 
whisper in the lowest of voices, “Want my dinner ! Sarah, make haste, want my dinner ! ” 
In the well-known autobiography of Lord Dundonald, there is an amusing anecdote of 
a Parrot which had picked up some nautical phrases, and had learned to use them to good 
effect. 
Some ladies were paying a visit to the vessel, and were hoisted on deck as usual by means 
of a “whip,” i. e., a rope passing through a block on the yard-arm, and attached to the chair 
on which the lady sits. Two or three had been safely brought on deck, and the chair had just 
been hoisted out of the boat with its fair freight, when an unlucky Parrot on board suddenly 
shouted out, “Let go!” The sailors who were hauling up the rope instantly obeyed the 
supposed order of the boatswain, and away went the poor lady, chair and all, into the sea. 
Its power of imitating all kinds of sounds is really astonishing. I have heard the same 
Parrot imitate, or rather reproduce, in rapid succession the most dissimilar of sounds, with- 
out the least effort and with the most astonishing truthfulness. He could whistle lazily like a 
street idler, cry prawns and shrimps as well as any costermonger, creak like an ungreased 
“ sheave ” in the pulley that is set in the blocks through which ropes run for sundry nautical 
purposes, or keep up a quiet and gentle monologue about his own accomplishments with a 
simplicity of attitude that was most absurd. 
Even in the imitation of louder noises he was equally expert, and could sound the danger 
whistle or blow off steam with astonishing accuracy. Until I came to understand the bird, I 
used to wonder why some invisible person was always turning an imperceptible capstan in my 
close vicinity, for the Parrot had also learned to imitate the grinding of the capstan bars and 
the metallic clink of the catch as it falls rapidly upon the cogs. 
As for the ordinary accomplishments of Parrots, he possessed them in perfection, but in 
my mind his most perfect performance was the imitation of a dog having his foot run over by 
a cart-wheel. First there came the sudden half -frightened bark, as the beast found itself in 
unexpected danger, and then the loud shriek of pain, followed by the series of howls that is 
popularly termed “pen and ink.” Lastly, the howls grew fainter, as the dog was supposed 
to be limping away, and you really seemed to hear him turn the corner and retreat into the 
distance. The memory of the bird must have been most tenacious, and its powers of observa- 
tion far beyond the common order ; for he could not have been witness to such canine accidents 
more than once. 
The food of this, as well as the green Parrot, consists chiefly of seeds of various kinds, 
and in captivity may be varied to some extent. Hemp-seed, grain, canary-seed, and the cones 
of fir-trees are very favorite articles of diet with this bird. Of the cones it is especially fond, 
nibbling them to pieces when they are young and tender ; but when they are old and ripe, 
breaking away the hard scales and scooping out the seeds with its very useful tongue. Haw- 
thorne berries are very good for the Parrot, as are several vegetables. These, however, should 
be given with great caution, as several, such as parsley and chick weed, are very hurtful to 
the bird. 
There are few things which a Parrot likes better than nuts and the stones of various 
fruits. I once succeeded in obtaining the affections of a Parisian Parrot, solely through the 
medium of peach-stones, which I always used to save for the bird, and for which he regularly 
began to gabble as soon as he saw me coming along the street. When taken freshly from the 
peach the stones are very acceptable to the Parrot, who turns them over and over, chuckling 
all the while to show his satisfaction, and picking all the soft parts from the deep indentations 
