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The Parrot: Nestor

One species, the Long-billed Parrot, or Nestor, scientifically called Nestor products, is now, as is feared, totally extinct, the last known specimen having been shot some years ago. This curious bird was notable for a wonderfully long upper mandible, very like a pickaxe in shape, and employed in much the same service, being used for digging out of the ground the roots and other vegetable substances on which the bird was accustomed to feed. It is rather remarkable that, although this strange land is very rich in the parrot tribe, none of them except the cockatoo can be taught to speak, being apparently incapable of any imitation of the human voice, and rarely uttering any sound except a scream or a chuckle. Asia also possesses some very elegant species.

All the birds belonging to this tribe are furnished with rather big heads, very large and curved beaks, with the upper mandible hooked well over the lower, which is short and stout; and their toes are so formed that they are divided into two opposable sets, so as to permit the bird to grasp an object in its claws almost as if they were hands. In climbing, an exercise of which the parrots are very fond, the young naturalist will probably observe that the bird makes nearly as much use of its beak as of its feet; and even when tame and accustomed to perch on the hand of its owner, it aids itself in its movements by taking hold of the fingers with its beak, although too gently to cause any injury.

The species which is most celebrated for talking is the Grey Parrot, a well-known bird, living, when wild, in Western Africa, and being at once identified by its grey plumage and short red tail. There are several modes of obtaining this bird, such as requesting a naval friend to bring one home on his return, or going and fetching one for yourself. But as there are few who are so happy as to have an accommodating nautical friend or relative, and still fewer who are able to undergo the perils and hardships of a sea voyage, the best way is to go to a respectable dealer, and give him an order for a young healthy bird. We say a young bird, because the purchaser will then be able to teach it every word that it speaks, and will find his feathered pet become far more familiar than if it entered his possession when aged and with fixed habits. Moreover, an older bird is very apt to pick up all kinds of phrases employed by the sailors on board the ship in which it made its voyage; and although such a vocabulary excites no particular surprise at sea, it is rather too forcible and idiomatic for society.

The worst of the matter is, that the parrot is possessed of an iron memory, and never seems to forget anything it has once learned, however its acquirements may have been overlaid with fresh teachings. It has often happened that a parrot which has behaved for a long time in the most exemplary manner, and employed none but the most refined language, has suddenly met with a sound which recalled all its old associations, and induced the bird to pour forth a copious volley of language too loud to be disregarded, and too plain to be misunderstood.

And parrots are just like children in their propensities for saying the most dreadful things exactly at the most inconvenient times and to the most fastidious persons, always choosing a dead silence for making some deeply reprehensible remark, and invariably addressing their observations to some lady or some staid ecclesiastical dignitary.

Parrots are marvellously nervous birds, and while young will often throw themselves into such paroxysms of fear at the mere sight of a stranger, that they will even endanger their lives. They have an odd and unpleasant habit of scolding on such occasions, uttering loud, rough, grating cries, as piercing to the ear as the sound of a file or a saw, and stretching out their necks with ruffled feathers and agitated gestures. Some birds retain this extreme timidity for a very long time, in spite of all attempts to conciliate them. As the management of the different species is nearly, if not quite, identical, it is unnecessary to trouble the reader with a detailed description of each kind of parrot and the mode of treating it; it will be sufficient to tell him how to manage these birds generally, and give a brief account of the country, form, and colour of those species which are most commonly brought to this country. There are, indeed, so many, that it is impossible to mention more than five or six sorts; but if the reader desires to learn more about the parrot tribe, let him refer to the Rev. J. G. Wood's "Illustrated Natural History," vol. ii., where he will find the subject treated at length, and with large figures of all the most remarkable species.