THE GREY PARROT.
And parrots are just like children in their propensities for saying the most dreadful things exactly at the most inconvenient times and to the most fastidious persons, always choosing a dead silence for making some deeply reprehensible remark, and invariably addressing their observations to some lady or some staid ecclesiastical dignitary.
Parrots are marvellously nervous birds, and while young will often throw themselves into such paroxysms of fear at the mere sight of a stranger, that they will even endanger their lives. They have an odd and unpleasant habit of scolding on such occasions, uttering loud, rough, grating cries, as piercing to the ear as the sound of a file or a saw, and stretching out their necks with ruffled feathers and agitated gestures. Some birds retain this extreme timidity for a very long time, in spite of all attempts to conciliate them.
As the management of the different species is nearly, if not quite, identical, it is unnecessary to trouble the reader with a detailed description of each kind of parrot and the mode of treating it; it will be sufficient to tell him how to manage these birds generally, and give a brief account of the country, form, and colour of those species which are most commonly brought to this country. There are, indeed, so many, that it is impossible to mention more than five or six sorts; but if the reader desires to learn more about the parrot tribe, let him refer to the Rev. J. G. Wood’s “Illustrated Natural History,” vol. ii., where he will find the subject treated at length, and with large figures of all the most remarkable species.
The Amazon, or Green Parrot, is so called from its colour, which is mostly bright green, with some yellow and purple tints here and there. This species is brought to England under the title of the Green Parrot, the second species being more properly called the Festive Parrot. It is much larger than the common species, being about fifteen or sixteen inches in length, and having the feathers of the lower part of the back of a deep vermilion.
Teaching this bird to talk is by no means a difficult task,—not nearly so difficult, indeed, as hindering it from learning accomplishments which it is not desired to possess, or inducing it to refrain from producing objectionable sounds, whether articulate or otherwise.
In order to teach the parrot to imitate sounds, the best and simplest mode is to take the bird into a perfectly quiet room, where it can hear and see no one but the instructor, and will not have its attention distracted by surrounding objects.
Then, after taking every care to render the feathered pet familiar, speak the words, or produce the sounds, which the bird is required to imitate, and be careful to avoid varying them even by the fraction of a tone. You will soon see the pupil taking notice of the oft-repeated sound, and it will presently hold its head aside, as if to catch the tones more clearly. After a while it will try to imitate them, and as soon as it makes an attempt, however imperfect, make much of the bird, and give it a small morsel of some special dainty.
THE GREEN PARROT.