sugar, hard and soft fruit are generally given to the larger species, the smaller birds live upon canary and millet-seed. Many of them are fond of Cayenne pepper; and capsicums and chilies may be given to them as remedies when out of order. Meat and sweetmeats are very injurious to Parrots; meat is especially bad for them, and heats them to such an extent that they pull out their feathers to relieve the exceeding irritability of skin from which they suffer. This is often caused by keeping them too hot; they ought to have plenty of fresh air, but must not be exposed to draughts, which will often produce asthma; bread soaked in milk, with a few grains of Cayenne pepper, is good for this disease.

Parrots are subject, too, to gouty or diseased feet: the legs and feet swell, and the bird is unable to grasp its perch: a warm bath is the best remedy for this, but great care must be taken to dry the feet thoroughly; if sore, they must be soaked in sugar and water, or anointed with sweet oil. The perches of the cage should be movable, so as to be taken out and well washed and scalded every week; and if the feet are bad, they may be covered with flannel for a time. Great cleanliness is necessary, and the cage must have plenty of sand or gravel in it. Cages of lacquered brass wire or of tinned wire, bell-shaped, square, and domed, are generally used for Parrots: unlacquered brass wire would be fatal to them, as indeed to all birds, who would rub their beaks along the wires when verdigris has accumulated on them. Cockatoos and Macaws are often kept chained to a perch. All should be supplied with water for bathing: though some of the species rarely enter a bath, others are very fond of washing, and must be indulged with a bath on sunny days. Some of them drink a good deal of water, others rarely touch it.

The Parrot tribe have, almost universally, shrill harsh voices, and many of them scream in a most disagreeable fashion. They are generally very sagacious birds, but

sometimes take very strange likings and dislikings to people, and are apt to be jealous of children; and as they bite pretty sharply, they are not always safe companions in a nursery. Those that talk appear to have a great sense of fun, and will bring in the sentences they have learnt to utter in the most appropriate circumstances. Probably they observe the effect of certain phrases when used by human beings, and their powers of memory being very great, remember the proper time to make use of them. The well-known story of Henry the Seventh's Parrot, which, on falling into the water, called out, “A boat! twenty pounds for a boat!" and on its rescue, when the waterman claimed the reward, gave orders to "give the knave a groat," is only one of numbers of the same kind. They will often repeat words apparently with the full knowledge that they are doing wrong, and expecting to be scolded or punished for the offence. A bird of which I heard some years ago, would always whistle the "Grenadiers' March" whenever he saw a certain colonel of volunteers; but when the gallant officer brought a party of ladies to his cage, instead of greeting him as usual, he, apparently with malice prepense, broke out into a torrent of bad language, which caused his visitors to retreat in dismay. Another Parrot, now living, appears, I am told, to have especial delight in calling out in answer to the inquiry for his mistress, "She's gone to church or cha-pel," from some idea of fun or mischief attached to the words (the lady being entirely unlikely to go to any such unorthodox place of worship). Parrots, too, will frequently act the part of l'enfant terrible of the house by making disclosures which were not intended to be made, either by the mistress to her guests, or by the servants to their mistress. I have read an amusing anecdote of this nature where, on the occasion of a grand dinner, a Parrot betrayed the ordinary habits of the household by calling out during the pause before dinner, "Becky, Becky, the pig's liver and a pot of beer! Quick! quick!

come away!" and repeating the call till, to the consternation of the lady of the house and the intense amusement of her guests, in walked a slipshod country girl, carrying a large dish of liver and a foaming pot of beer, and crying out, “Lucky indeed it was that I had it ready, ma'am, for Jowler, the big watch-dog, has runned away with the leg of carrion [i. e. venison]." I have heard of another, who lived in a kitchen, where the mistress was very suspicious of her servants, and he used always to give her notice,—“ Mary has been here," "John was here again,” etc.; and on one occasion, when the mistress came unexpectedly into the kitchen while some contraband cooking was going on, the bird called out, "Cake under the cushion, mistress!" and repeated his speech till the hidden cake was produced. It is difficult to imagine that this Parrot was not acquainted with the meaning of the words he used.

Parrots frequently form very decided and lasting attachments to their owners.

They are very long-lived birds, living sixty or seventy years in confinement. The common African GREY PARROT, too well known to need description, is renowned for its wonderful powers of imitation. This, and the AMAZON GREEN PARROT are, perhaps, the most common in this country; but there are so many specimens of splendid Parrots, Macaws, Cockatoos, etc. annually brought to England, and well known to all lovers of cage birds, that it is needless, even were it possible, to describe them. I will confine myself, therefore, to a notice of one or two of the species more recently introduced into this country.

The PLATYCERCI or Broad-tailed Parrakeets of Australia are especially lovely, glowing with blue, green, violet, and crimson tints. The KING PARROT (Aprosmictus scapulatus) is a splendid bird: the head, neck, and the whole of the under parts of the body are of a deep vermilion red, the back and wings of a beautiful dark green, the scapulars being of a light grass green: the quill-feathers and the

tail are bluish-black. The tail is very long, broad, and square. The hen is green in the upper part of the body, the breast being streaked with red, the under part of the body light red, and the tail green and blue.

PENNANT'S PARRAKEET (Platycercus Pennantii), sometimes called the Australian Lory, has the prevailing colour of the plumage of a rich crimson, each feather having a darker tinge in the centre, edged with a brighter shade. It has a beautiful violet blue throat and shoulders, and a dark blue and green tail, some of the feathers being tinged with red, and others fringed with white. The quill-feathers of the wings are also shaded with violet, red, and white. The hen is chiefly green and yellow, with crimson feathers on the head and breast.

The ROSE-HILL PARRAKEET, Sometimes described under the name of the Rosella Parrot, is another beautiful Platycercus, with a glowing scarlet head and breast. The feathers of the back are very dark black-green, broadly edged with bright green; the upper tail-coverts are entirely of this beautiful leaf green, the tail itself being shaded with green and blue. The wings are dark green and yellow, with lilac shoulders, the under part of the body is yellow and shading into green.

The BULLA BULLA PARAKEET has a black head, with a glow of violet blue on the cheeks and chin, and a lemon yellow collar. The breast and upper part of the body are deep green, and the lower part pale green and yellow. The quills of the wings are black tipped with blue, and the two outer feathers of the tail are blue, the others green. All these Parrakeets have very long tails. They do very well in confinement, but ought not to be shut up in small cages. Their natural food consists of corn and grass-seeds, varied by grubs and insects.

The PARRAKEET COCKATOO, or COCKATEEL (Nymphicus or Calopsitta Nova Hollandia) is a most beautiful and elegantly shaped bird, distinguished by its peculiar pointed

crest of light feathery filaments, yellow at the base, and grey at the tip. The head and throat of the male are lemon yellow, and there is a patch of red on the ears. The back and under part of the body are brownish-grey, the wings of a greyer tinge edged with white. The tail is long and pointed, the two central feathers being brown, and much longer than the others, which are grey; some being tinged with black, and yellow underneath. The hen has a green tinge pervading the yellow head and throat, and a number of bars of yellow and very dark brown crossing her tail. This bird is very sprightly and active, and runs a good deal upon the ground among the long grass-stems, the seeds of which it eats. It is gentle and sociable, and fond of notice.

The GROUND PARRAKEET (Pezoporus formosus) derives its name from being almost always seen on the ground. Mr. Gould says it never perches on a tree, but it has been seen on a tea-tree scrub occasionally. It lays its eggs on the bare ground, and is like a pheasant in some of its habits. It runs with great swiftness along the ground, wending its way through the grass, and when forced to take flight, flies to a very little height from the ground, and remains a very short time on its wings. The prevailing colour of the plumage is dark green, mottled with black and yellow. In confinement it should have a long cage, in which it may run along the ground.

The MANY-COLOURED PARRAKEET (Psephotus multicolor) is so named from its variegated plumage, the ground colour of which is blue-green, but many of the feathers are tinted with black, blue, and red. The forehead is bright yellow, and there is a patch of deeper orange on the shoulders: the quills are black, shaded with blue and green. A bar of pale green runs across the lower part of the back, and the upper tail-coverts are red. The thighs and feathers between the legs are red, the throat and stomach are green, the rest of the lower part of the body