Polly—My Amazon 277



thrive on it, as one evening I saw two little heads peering out at the

world.


For several days they spent most of their time taking stock of

their new surroundings, then, on the morning of 29th July, two very

self-possessed young Layards were perched side by side on a branch,

both looking completely smug and nonchalant. Excepting for their

blue rumps they were green all over, with bright coral beaks. They

were both very strong on the wing and did their father and mother great

credit. While they were in the nest the parents had been fed on their

usual millet and canary mixture, sunflower ad lib., a teaspoonful of

hemp twice a day, apple, and a little green chickweed. They are now,

6th September, completely self-supporting and as big as the old birds.



POLLY—MY AMAZON


By the Countess op Essex


Polly is a Blue-fronted Amazon (A. cestina) but quite the smallest

I have ever seen. I answered an advert, in a paper—someone wished

to sell a Parrot. I liked the description and thus became the owner

of Polly. I was very disappointed with her appearance when she

arrived. She was thin, her plumage ragged, and she smelt like a mouse

—or rather a dozen mice. (Of course, she is a very different looking

bird now.) As I unwrapped her cage I heard mutterings, “ What do

you want—what do you want,” but when she actually came in view

she was silent.


I spoke to her, offered her grapes, which she took from my hand,

then still talking to her put my hand in her cage—rather nervously

I must confess. To my surprise she got on to it at once and since

then we have been the greatest of friends. To me personally, Polly is

the most loving and gentle bird I have ever owned. She is not so with

other people. My butler, who is devoted to all the pets, had a terrible

reproof from Polly. Meeting her walking upstairs (she is nearly always

loose) he put his hand down for her to get on to, as he had seen me

do hundreds of times. She got on to it and let him carry her half-way

upstairs when (as he describes it) “ she stared very hard at me and



