The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1890-02-19
POLL PARROTS.
SOME PRACTICAL HINTS ON
THEIR HABITS AND TRAINING.
How They Are Imported and Accli.
matized-Dying for Want Of
Proper Care-TeachinR
Them to Talk.

81 suppose you know that every ship
from the isthmus lands at least q score
Of parrots in San Francisco" said an
enthusiastic bird tanner to reporter
lately.
"What becomes of them?"
81 believe most of them die within
month for want of proper care, and very
few of the rest learn to talk. Of course all
The parrots don't come from the isthmus or
the coast towns where the steamers call.
But enough come from these points at a
low figure to make it we'll worth while
for man to undertake the business of
training and acclimatizing them. You
:an get a young parrot at Corento or
Acapulco, or at almost any Central
American port, for five pesos (about $4),
that will be worth from $50 to $100
when properly taught. It's easy enough
when you know the way"
"Some varieties are better than others,
are they not2"
"Yes, but practically any parrot can
be trained to talk if you commence when
the bird is young. There is a common
but foolish notion that it is only the
male birds that talk. AS matter of
fact there is no more difference in this
respect than in the human species. The
hen parrot can do her share of talking
about as well as woman's rights ad-
vocate."
'Do the different kinds of parrots re-
quire different food?"
Certainly, that is one of the secrets.
Let me describe to you here the kinds Of
parrot commonly met with in this coun-
try. Of course you know they are all
imported and acclimatized, the bird
being strictly tropical in its natural
habitat. The Mexican double yellow
head parrots are among the best birds
we get; they have better talking power,
greater sharpness in picking up words
and tricks, and more pleasing human
like voice than the other varieties. They
are also quick to become attached to
their owners, and to make strangers feel
like strangers, which is one Of the chief
charms of parrot for the average man
or woman. That's human nature, isn't
it2 If parrot will take to everybody
the owner has no use for it. This va
riety has another good quality: that of
fearlessness. A Mexican double yellow
head parrot will convince any cat in
about two minutes that distance lends
both enchantment and safety to the view.
As to what these birds can learn I will
only say that they have heen taught to
initiate all the animals in the barnyard-
the rooster, the dog, the pigs, the pea
hens, the turkeys; they can be made to
repeat half dozen letters of the alpha
bet correctly in succession, spell words,
and as to swearing-they will pick up
'cuss' words as quick as any teu-year-old
gamin in Tar Flat"
"Are these birds the ones which die
off so fast2"
eyes, because they are the most SEN
sitive of all parrots. They require spe-
cial care the first winter, and should be
kept warm and out of the draught.
Just here I will give you a pointer. If
you put monkey, an ant-eater, par
rot or any tropical animal in draught of
air-as, for instance, by opening the
window in a room where a fire is burn
ing-you are going to lose your pet. 1t
will catch cold and die as surely as if
you had put it in refrigerator car"
"Then the imported parrots die Of
cold9"
"Not all of them. It is not really cold
enough in San Francisco to kill parrot,
even on a cold day, but draughts are
fatal, in summer and winter alike. The
real trouble people have in raising parrots
is because they will not try to believe
that the birds will get along much better
1T first without drinking water. If you
set vessel of water near a freshly i'm
ported parrot, however healthy, it will
irink itself to death; that's what I
mean"
"Then you would give them no water
at all2"
"Not exactly that. A little water may
be given to a young bird every day; say
one or two teaspoonfuls. But the proof
that water is bad for green parrot, if
you let the bird feed itself, is shown by
the fact that a parrot which has been
getting along finely for whole week
without water, but with plenty of green
food, which contains all the water it re-
quires, will get dysentery or some other
trouble directly it is allowed to swill all
it wants"
"Parrots improve rapidly in value ac-
cording to their talking powers, sup
pose7"
eyes, so much so that a good talker is
worth $100 where a fner-looking bird
that cannot talk is only worth S10."
"How are they taught to talka"
"You must tame them first. For in
stance, by giving them water at regu-
lar hour; instead of allowing them to
help themselves you will accustom them
to look for your presence and that is
everything. Then try placing a cover
over the cage, to confine the birds atten-
zion, and say a short word or sentence
every day till learned. Once the parrot
gets start at talking the trouble is to
keep the gift under control. The bird
has no knowledge of good and evil; it
will learn swear words just as easily as the
others. The best plan is to have stock
of words and use only these in the birds
hearing, always pitching them in a par
ticular key so Us to fix the attention"
"Apropos of the diseases of parrots; is
there any remedy for thcm?"