Polly will be charmed with this addition to her range of locomotion, and the sight of his pet bird enjoying herself cannot fail to repay the owner for the slight extra trouble he has taken.
Parrots are very fond of exercising their strong beaks, and are apt to gnaw their perches so incessantly, that they cut them in two, despite the hardness of the material. Prevention, they say, is better than cure; and if the young parrot-owner will take care to give his bird now and then a stout piece of elm wood, with the bark not removed, he will find that Polly will prefer to tear and rasp away at the elm board to biting her hard perch, where there is no bark to be stripped off.
THE COCKATOO.
The pretty Cockatoos are always great favourites, their form being very elegant, their colour delicate, and their talkative powers very great. These birds are natives of Australia and the Indian Islands, and derive their name from the peculiar cry of some members of their kind, which exactly resembles the word cockatoo.
The two species generally found in captivity are the great Wide-crested Cockatoo, known by the crest of broad and slightly-hollowed feathers which decorate the head, and which can be raised and even thrown forward when the bird is excited with pleasure or anger. The colour of this bird is white, and the under surface of the crest is tinged with red. It comes from the Moluccas, and is deservedly in favour as a pet, being docile, affectionate, and very quaint in its habits.
The other species is the Lesser, or Sulphur-crested, Cockatoo, also from the Moluccas and Indian Islands. It is easily known by the pointed sulphur-yellow crest, which is continually being raised and thrown forward. Both kinds can learn to talk to some extent, though they are not such admirable linguists as their kinsmen the parrots.
The pretty Ring Paroquet is a native of the East Indies, and is a very familiar inhabitant of our aviaries and cages. It is a gentle creature, and most affectionate to a kind owner. It is mightily fond of walnuts, and the bird can be kept in a state of great good-humour for an hour or more by giving it half a one, and telling it to pick out the contents with its hooked bill. The bird seems perfectly happy, holding the nut in one claw, shifting it with great dexterity, so as to get it into the best position for extracting the kernel, and uttering the while a little, low chuckle of gratification. The colloquial powers of this bird are moderate; but it does not learn so readily, nor repeat so accurately, as the grey or green parrot.