Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1892-10-08
A GREAT IMlTAroR.
Remarkable Cloverncss OF = Talented AM
can Parrot.

Remarkable Clevernoss OF Talented AMI
can Parrot.
OF NIL the members OF the feathered
tribes there are mono which have been
greater favorites and have been re-
Rarded with a greater degree ofgenuine
attachment than parrots. The beauty
of their plumage, with its wealth and
variety OF gorgeous colors. their sym
metry of form and their gracefulness
Of manner, would alone have been suf-
ficient to give them their popularity.
But the closest link they have estab-
lished with our affections Is, OF course,
found in their wonderful faculty for
the repetition Of spoken words and varl-
GUS familiar sounds, together with their
possession, in many instances, OF rea-
soning power which suggests that they
are not always nero imitators, but
really understand the general sense OF
what they say. Combined with this
power of speech, the fond attachment
which they are capable Of showing to-
ward those who feed or are otherwise
kind to them leads to their being among
the most favored, rs they seem to be
also among the best fitted, companions
among the brutes.
In their native condition the parrots
are found in vast assemblies, which are
often n thousand or more in number,
and often seen clustered together and
talking in loud and excited tones on the
trees of some dark foresG or sequestered
swamp, or taking long, though low,
flights through the air to their favorite
watering places
The most talented Of the many varie-
ties is the gray parrot, which is n ma
tive of west Africa, and which, when
taken young and we'll trained, displays
some really wonderful gifts. One OF
these parrots, owned in England, lived
to a remarkable age. 1t had u good
memory and easily learned sentences
in Dutch, but at sixty this faculty
began to fail, ut sixty-five the moulting
was irregular, and Mt ninety the bird
was de:rcpit, blind and voiceless, grad
ually sinking into kind of lcthargy, in
which condition it finally died.
The tone of his singing was very odd.
1t sounded like an automaton initiating
the human voice. The maid prompted
him to sing "God Save the King" He
sang all the verses of it, but now and
then wandered into the Blanks OF the
Dee" which seemed his favorite, and
one or two Scotch songs, the names OF
which I forget. Col OKelly told US
that his power Of catching sounds was
quite astonishing; that on one occasion
when newspaper had been read aloud
in his presence the colonel, on coming
into the room half an hour after. had,
as he opened the door, been convinced
by the sound that the same person was
still reading aloud, and was scarcely
able to believe that it was the parrot
repeating to himself inarticula;c sounds
precisely in the tone and mlnner OF the
reader.
Among other peculiarities of the same
bird may be mentioned its possession OF
an accurate ear for music, so that 1t
would beat time while it whistled, and
If it mistook note it would revert to
the bar where the mistake occurred
and finish the tune quite correctly. 1t
could, too, not only answer questions
but give orders and express It's wants
in manner strongly suggestive o.
rational being.-Straai.