OBEY PARROT. 
51 
we could not get sight of them. Thus they remained for some little 
time, when at last one came down, and I could not restrain the 
temptation to shoot it. At the discharge of the gun a multitude 
suddenly burst from their concealment and dispersed with deafening 
screams. Picking up my prize we walked cautiously forwards until 
we observed at a distance in front of us another troop or it might 
have been the one we had disturbed — on the highest branches of an 
exceedingly large tree. In half an hour we reached the spot, where 
we found numbers of large trees with foilage so thick that we could 
not see any Parrots. While waiting and eagei’ly watching we again heard 
the falling of empty husks, and at the same time observed a movement 
among the leaves of a palm tree. On closer inspection we could see our 
birds, and as we had no desire to cause another Parrot revolution we left 
them to eat their palm nuts in peace. It being now about five o clock 
in the afternoon, and the sun setting at six, we had only an hour left 
at our disposal to seek after the nests. My companion being moie 
likely, from his experience, to spy out the nests quicker than myself, 
I set Him to inspect the trees within a short circuit, while I remained 
at that spot, and arranged that he should inform me of the discovery 
of a nest by imitating the call of the Wood Kingfisher (Halcyon dry as). 
Soon after the sudden signal of my black man informed me that he 
had been successful in finding nests : repeating the call alternately , I 
at last got up to the place where he was, and the position of the nest 
was pointed out to me. A hole in the trunk of one of the trees was, 
according to my man, the home of a pair of Parrots. Knowing fi’om 
experience how sharp-eyed these fellows are, I was quite sure that 
something Parrot-like would be found inside the hole. Darkness was 
now coming on fast, and it being too late to do anything that night, 
we marked the tree by fastening some palm-leaves on the trunk, and 
left the breeding pair inside the hole undisturbed till next morning. 
While thus occupied, troops of Parrots approached from different sides 
and settled among the trees. As for ourselves we found a capital 
shelter under a clump of bushes, where we concealed ourselves, and 
from there observed unperceived the doings of the Parrots around us. 
Some were climbing and hanging on the branches, others flying and 
scampering through the foliage; we saw them perching close to each 
other, and afterwards five or six settled just above our shelter. Numbers 
came from all sides, and the chattering which we had previously heaul 
at the distance by was this time close to us. There was a noise of 
whistling, screaming, quarrelling, and the breaking of dead branches. 
We saw them pass before us and settle on the trees : at this time we 
must have been surrounded by hundreds of Parrots. Being now almost 
