Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-04-30
GORGEOUS PARROTS.
BIRD THAT Is A FAvORITE DE-
SPITE MANY FAlLINGS.

SEii I MANY fAIllNCS.
Parrots Are Pets Only in Civilized Coun-
tries-The Small Boys Recollections of
the Bird Are Generally Fraught with
Sore Parts of ANATOMY
The advent of the parrot into private life
is contemporaneous with the emancipation
OF women. IL Is only pet in so called civ
lllzed countries. The Bucks of Australia.
the Maori of New Zealand, the negro of
the Congo, the natives of central and
northern South America had simply used
the Dird for food and it's feathers for orna-
ment. Some unknown woman of the Cir
casslan race must have found that it made
more noise than herself, told tales on her
husband and then the trade began
To many people nowadays the parrot is a
bird of ones earliest "reminiscences. The
bird had not its domicile in ones own
home, but 1T formed one of the pets of n
maiden aunt, a woman to be well thought
oil ana respected, and it was instilled into
the youthful mind, however mischievous
IL may nave been, that no jokes were to be
played within the walls of her we'll kept
mousse. In furtherance of these commands
you were fool enough to say pretty poll"
and scratch the Bonded head, and then,
looking curiously round the room, scratch
the birds eye, the next moment leaving
part of your finger and finger nail in the
birds beak
These old maid birds are generally pious
ana are much more cared for than the
housemaid, but sometimes they end in evil
ways. The parrot that the pious aunt of
Verrisopht Boomershine gave him when
about to join his regiment, in the hope of
keeping that worthy youth from the pit
falls of military life, was chockful of good
Biblical advice, but Verrisopht wen. on
leave, and the parrot was taken to the bar
rack room, whence it came back the most
blaSphemous of birds.
Profanity it took kindly to, and so
shocked the maiden aunt during an unex-
pected visit to the barracks that, had she
not died before she could alter her will,
Nerrisopht would have been left a poor
man.
IN THEIR HAUNTs.
The parrot from its birth is noisy bird.
The bird in its nest makes more noise than
dozen toucans, and when old enough to
join in the flights that every morning and
evening cross the tropical forests joins in
the squawking chorus that can be heard
nearly a mile away.
But there are parrots and parrots The
little love bird gives up its life to a small
twitter and lust to kiss and kiss and kiss
again, while the royalty robed macaw or
white plumed, yellow crested cockatoo
spends its life in noise and battle.
There Is one good thing to be said for the
parrot, and that is that it will always go
to its brother in distress. Whether from
| curiosity or kindness who can tell?
Should you wound parrot you may be
| certain of good bag. As you hear the
| bird with your foot. The cries attract the
other birds, and they circle round giving
| one some capital shots. 1t sounds little
| cruel, but then the larder must be supplied
In captivity, however, they are strange
| birds, the larger numbers only admirable
| for their plumage and horribly aggrava-
| ting for the noisy monotony Of their voices.
| But some undoubtedly are amusing for
| their mimicry and the affection they show.
What man has travelled abroad and has not
seen the parrot, apparently monarch of all
| it surveyed, wandering with its sidelong
| gait about the floor of the house and
! climbing every chair, making free of the
! lobe of the ear of the visitor and, missing
the accustomed earring of its mistress,
drawing blood from the guest who foolish.
( Iy wanted to make himself agreeable.
However sleepful man may be, if fate
should lodge him in IA house where this
bird is q pet he must make up his mind to
rise at early dawn or lie in bed and silently
bless the nuisance.
PARROTS ON sHtPBoARD.
Once the writer was a passenger OH .
steamer bound from West Africa to Liver
pool. 1t was computed there were 15,O0C
| Congo parrots on board, besides monkeys
of all sorts and descriptions As it was
summer the birds were brought up from
| the forecastle every morning in their
cages, often containing fifty, and placed
| here, there and everywhere. What with
the jabbering of the monkeys and the
tuneless squawks of the parrots, one might
have thought himself in a deeper, darker
Africa than Stanley ever crossed.
But there were some funny episodes too
Some among the passengers, deluded ones
were taking home educated birds. Al
army doctor had sapieht bird, who al
ways on his approach diagnosed its mas
ter's character by saying, 81 see you, you
old rascal This bird had been given il
charge of the ships butcher, and one day
the butcher, wearing a sorrowful face
brought the defunct pet to the doctor.
\ day or two before reaching Liverpool
the doctor determined to buy IA new bird
and went forward, when from amid the
mass of parrotdom rose the old familiar
cry. 1t was a bad quarter of an hour TO,
the butcher. The doctor got back his pet
There was another bird on board that wa.
terror TO the ships doctor. Its cage hune
near the latter's cabin, and it learned the
servants oft repeated cry "The doctor
wants a glass of gin New York Tribune