Cassell's book of birds; vol. 1Brehm, Alfred Edmund
Science
Cassell's book of birds; vol. 1
Brehm, Alfred Edmund
Birds
A pair of Waved Parrots in our possession occupied a large cage, in which
they seemed very comfortable, but perhaps the bright sun, as it laughed
at them through the windows, made them sigh for freedom. One day the
female cleverly made her escape, and, before we discovered it, had flown
through the window. We now learned to admire this bird from another point
of view, as we watched its glorious flight, and may say with truth that
we forgot to feel angry at our loss. The fugitive rose high into the air,
and screamed with delight as it wheeled round and round with incomparable
rapidity over a neighbouring garden; it flew quite differently to any
parrot we ever saw--indeed, more like a falcon or a swallow, and was
soon out of sight, but in a few minutes reappeared in the garden,
apparently in consequence of the anxious cry of its mate, for we had at
once placed the latter near the window. The lovers of these birds know
that their tone is deceptively like that of our sparrows. It was the
height of summer, and all the roofs were covered with young sparrows,
who exhibited the greatest agitation as soon as the beautiful stranger
appeared. The parrot had placed itself upon a plum-tree near the window,
and from thence conversed with its mate. The young sparrows, who thought
that the enticing chirp was intended for them, ventured near in flocks,
regardless of the warnings and cautions of their elders, for though the
latter seemed astonished, they were far too old birds to be deceived,
and would not approach; the young ones, on the contrary, surrounded it
in crowds. It took not the slightest notice of them, but they were not
to be repulsed; they became most pressing in their attentions, hopped
quite close to it, looked at it with the greatest delight, and answered
its chirp with all their little strength. When it became angry and flew
off to another tree, the whole array followed, and it was only when
the stranger began to exhibit its splendid powers of flight, that the
sparrows were compelled to remain below abashed. This comedy lasted for
about half an hour, and the whole length and breadth of the garden was
filled with sparrows, when at last, love for its mate made the fugitive
return to its room; on this it was seized and put into the cage, where
it was most tenderly received by its companion, and the crowd outside
dispersed. In this country the Waved Parrots can be kept for whole weeks
out of doors. In the spring of 1861, two pairs of these birds flew
from a cage to the estate of a noted collector in Belgium; they betook
themselves to the tops of some high trees in a large park, and were lost
during some time. While they remained at large, as it afterwards proved,
they had made their nest, and reared a number of young ones. The owner
of the property surprised a whole flock of from ten to twelve in a field
of oats, where they were helping themselves; from that time they were
enticed with proper food, and before the winter ten birds were captured.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account