44 
GREY PARROT. 
restraint. His affection, however, could be won, and he spoke willingly 
with such persons as were in the habit of visiting us, sometimes, in- 
deed, making a clever joke at their expense. 
“A stout Major, whom he knew very well, attempted one day to 
teach him tricks: ' Jump on the stick, Polly, on the stick!’ commanded 
the warrior. Polly was extremely annoyed: then suddenly he burst 
out laughing- loudly, and said: 'Major, jump on the stick, Major!’ 
Another of his friends had not visited the house for some con- 
siderable time, this was spoken of, and it was expected that Eoth, 
which was the name of the wished-for visitor, would come that day. 
Here comes Roth’, suddenly exclaimed the Parrot, who had been 
looking out of the window, and had recognised the expected visitor 
at a distance. 
“A son of the family, George, was expected home after a lengthened 
absence, and this was naturally talked about among the members of 
the household: George arrived late one evening, when Polly was already 
sleeping in the darkness of her covered cage. After the first greetings 
were over, George turned to the general favourite, and lifted the corner 
of the cage: 'Ah, George, art thou there? that is nice, very nice’, 
said the bird. 
“ He had noticed that when his master went to the window, he often 
called to the steward, or to the bailiff, to come upstairs from the 
courtyard. When, after this, the Parrot saw his master go quickly 
towards the window, he called every time both the men by name, as 
he was unable to tell which of the two his master intended to summon. 
“It is impossible for me to relate all that the bird did and said, 
he seemed almost a human being. Polly had a mournful ending. He 
was bestowed upon an aged relative of the family, who had become 
childish, and had taken a childish fancy to the bird. All wept as the 
wonderful creature was carried away: Polly alone shed no tears, but 
could not endure the parting from his beloved ones: a few days later 
he was dead.” — Probably starved, poor thing, by his “childish” owner. 
In the Feathered World for August 16th., 1883, a Mr. Diettrich 
relates the following anecdote of his Grey Parrot: — “It is very amusing 
to see Polly call the hens together, in imitation of my wife, and she 
then gave us no peace till she received a piece of bread, with which 
she took her seat on the window ledge, or on the paling, breaking 
it up and throwing down the crumbs. The running of the hens after 
the crumbs seemed to afford her the greatest amusement.” 
In the face of anecdotes like those related above, and others which 
are to follow, it would really appear as if these birds were gifted with 
a certain modicum of human intelligence; but a little reflection, and 
