The Marquess of Tavistock—The Pursuit of the Cock Grey Parrot 161


“ he 55 also proved a hen, showing that the pelvic test, though often

useful, is not wholly to be relied on.


Some months later I saw an enormous Grey in Harrods and

determined to have him. Foolishly, however, I delayed in making

my purchase, and when I returned he was gone. I believe he really

was a cock ! I took a smaller bird, but as it was very feminine in

body-shape and squabbled with Polly even more than usual I decided

not to persevere.


Finally, Bill. The other day a letter reached me from the owner

of a Parrot who said he had a bird in breeding condition and would

I like to have it ? He felt sure from its actions it was a male. Bill is

still an uncertain quantity. If he is a cock then none of the supposed

indications of sex in the appearance of Grey Parrots are reliable. He is

a smallish bird and there is nothing about the shape of the bare skin

round the eye nor of the eye itself to separate him from his predecessors.

The day after his arrival he was exceedingly restless, making strenuous

efforts to get out of his cage and starting to pluck himself with much

energy. I had meant to keep him indoors till the weather was milder,

but he made such a mess of himself that I felt I had better risk him

in the aviary. Polly’s greeting at first was less unfriendly than usual.

She went up and looked at him and then, without molesting him,

turned and walked away for a couple of feet and, hanging on the

wire, examined him closely first with one eye and then with the other.

He responded to these observations by uttering a single—not very

loud—whistle at frequent intervals. Later in the day Polly was less

polite, pecking him on the head when he tried to share her food dish

and giving him a tweak when he turned to walk away, unfriendly acts

which he endured rather patiently. Now, a few days later, he is

evidently beginning to respond to fresh air and good feeding. He has

stopped plucking himself and is developing a bad temper towards

humans, biting the wire, scooping out mouthfuls of rotten wood, and

delivering himself of a tuneless Gregorian chant strangely like that

wherewith Koko, the Amazon, of unblessed memory, was wont to

defy me. I may grow to value Bill but I do not think I shall ever like

him. I foresee that he will join the ranks of the man-eaters !


In conclusion, if you own a Grey Parrot don’t, if you value the



