MENTAL QUALITIES. 
109 
C 8. 
Ap, 
XIV. 
Soi ,° 8nise d their foi-mer masters after an interval of 
lllon ths. Pigeons have such excellent local me- 
for, 
that 
, uri - they have been known to return to their 
1 ]j er Monies after an interval of nine months, yet, as 
Mr. Harrison Weir, if a pair which would 
. v remain mated for life be separated for a few 
th e t S <lUl ilJ S tho winter and matched with other birds, 
w ' V . Q » w hen brought together again, rarely, if ever, 
E 186 each other. 
"ill f 8 SOme times exhibit benevolent feelings ; they 
i'foi 18 P er ' la l )s ought to be considered as a mistaken 
paj t llc *; They will also feed, as shewn in an earlier 
v.'hj,. this work, adult birds of their own species 
a c J>e become blind. Mr. Buxton gives a curious 
ctj * nt of a parrot which took care of a frost-bitten and 
arjd , ec T>ird of a distinct species, cleansed her feathers 
eUded her t rom the attacks of the other parrots 
lao le ,0: ' lu °d freely about his garden. It is a still 
Llu ''°us fact that these birds apparently evince 
a i )ilit , SyTri P a thy for the pie asures of their fellows. When 
" r °f coc] ' ■ ' ' J 
1 "hculous to see the extravagant interest taken 
Matter by the others of the same species.” 
“ ■ e ockatoos made a nest in an acacia tree, 
"’as 
it 
'Tb 
the 
fose 
l’ ai 'rots, also, evinced unbounded curiosity, and 
Sim Ul ^ l< idea of property and possession.” 11 
^atgij 8 P° Sse ss acute powers of observation. Every 
8t ati 
®tai 
lrt *, of course, recognises its fellow. Audubon 
^ t6g ^ a t with the mocking-thrushes of the United 
hie v / ^ l ' n us pohjfflothis) a certain number remain all 
tp Je <V h r °ii]id in Louisiana, whilst the others migrate 
Wstern States; these latter, on their return, 
to 
n . 
ip A Cl 
of Parrots,’ by 0. Buxton, M.P. 
Nov. 1868, p. 381. 
‘ Annals and 
