INTRODUCTION. 
IX 
gizzard before they can be digested, and serve for the nourishment of the 
bird. To supply the want of teeth, Nature has taught the Parrot to swallow 
a certain number of small, sharp-edged stones, which effectually reduce the 
food to a pulp, and prepare it for absorption by the glands of the stomach 
and intestines: yet how few owners of Parrots ever think of supplying their 
pets with such small artificial teeth as we have alluded to. 
Many Parrots, especially the Australian species, appear in their wild state 
to evince a preference for brackish, or slightly salt, water, over fresh; yet 
we suppose it has not occurred to one Parrot keeper out of a thousand to 
supply the bird he or she owns with a morsel of rock salt: in fact many 
people look upon salt as rank poison for any bird, a belief in which we 
were strictly educated, but which we now know to be without foundation 
in fact: salt, instead of being injurious to Parrots, is very beneficial, and 
should always be supplied to them: very sparingly, of course, at first, but 
when the Parrot has got over the novelty of the thing, like the pastrycook’s 
errand-boy, it may be safely trusted with a lump in its cage, it will not 
take more than is good for it. 
A Parrot is naturally an extremely active and lively bird, and should never 
be kept in a small cage, in which not only it is seen to disadvantage, but 
is apt to injure its plumage, especially its tail, and the ends of the flight 
feathers in the wings: even when kept in a large-sized cage, it should, 
when practicable, be allowed a fly, every now and then, about the room, 
which it will much enjoy, and when its brief period of liberty has expired, 
a bonne bouche, in the shape of a morsel of biscuit, a nut, or a piece of 
a Pple, will soon lure it back to its domicile, to which, after a while, it 
will return of its own accord, when it is tired of rambling about. 
Road grit, well washed to free it from dust and other impurities, is the 
best thing with which to supply Parrots in lieu of a carpet for the floor of 
their abode, and the absurd grillage with which the cages of these birds 
are invariably provided when purchased new, should be immediately removed ; 
for » instead of answering any useful purpose, it is positively injurious, 
hindering the Parrot from reaching the sharp grit on the bottom of the 
Ca o e ; and was, doubtless, invented by some lazy owner, who objected to 
the trouble of cleaning out “Polly’”s habitation as frequently as he should 
have done: which brings us to the subject of cleanliness. 
This virtue, we have been assured on very high authority, is akin to 
Godliness, but without going quite as far as that, we are bound to say 
that it is of the utmost importance, if the health and beauty of the captive 
