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Senegal Harrot. 
Psittacus senegalus, Linn., Lthm., Khl., etc. 
Synonyms: Psittacus senegalensis, Br.; Psittacus Versteri, Gff. ; 
Psittacula senegalensis, Brss.; Pionus senegalus, Wgl.; 
Poicephalus senegalensis, Swns.; 
Poiocephalus senegalus et senegalensis, Hrtl.; Phoeocephalus senegalensis, 
Br. ; Pionias senegalus, Fnsch. 
German: Per Mohrenkopf-Papagei, Russ. 
I N different parts of the world, Africa, America, and Asia, are to 
be found birds which have received their names from the fact of 
their being possessed of black heads, but the species now before us, 
“known in Europe from the most remote period”, as Dr. Russ says, 
“is a handsome bird”, and by far the most desirable of them all as 
a pet. 
“These birds”, to quote further from Dr. Russ's description, “must 
be reckoned among those which have been known in Europe from the 
earliest times; at present they are regular guests in all the Zoological 
Gardens, and tolerably frequent at the dealers. The first pair which 
I kept in my bird-room were indescribably wild and obstinate; at every 
approach or even the least movement on the part of the observer they 
uttered disagreeable piercing shrieks, and every attempt to tame them 
proved fruitless. However, they took possession of a nesting-box, at 
first probably as a place of refuge in their timidity and wildness, and 
commenced nesting. Three very round and disproportionately small 
eggs were laid, but were soon eaten up by the male; and when the 
hen laid again and commenced sitting, the monster bit her dead and 
gnawed her skull. 
“This Black-headed Parrot, however, was so handsome that I could 
not make up my mind to get rid of him; and when, after some 
months of solitude and at least partial taming, I gave him a second 
