CHAPTER XI 
PJRROTS, CUCKOOS, AND PLANTAIN-EATERS 
Parrots 
r I "Ahe art of taming wild animals,” writes Mr. Jenks in his “ History of Politics,” ‘‘ and 
I making them serve the purposes of man, is one of the greatest discoveries of the 
world.” He holds — and there can be little question as to its reasonableness — ■“ that 
the domestication of animals converted the savage pack into the patriarchal tribe,” and that 
the earliest domesticated animals were pets. How great a share, then, Parrot.s may have 
had in this civilisation and advancement no man can tell, for it is impossible to say how long 
these beautiful birds may have been esteemed as pets, or how early they were introduced 
to the notice of the civilised peoples of past generations. Certain it is, however, that for 
more than 2,000 years they have been held in the highest esteem. 
Modern discovery has added enormously to the list of known parrots, so that to-day more 
than 500 different species have been described, and these may be divided into Nestors, Lories, 
Cockatoos, Cockateels, Macaws, and Kakapos. 
N.B. 
KEA 
jiho known as the Mountain-nestor 
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