Identifier: birdstheirways00chur (find matches)
Title: Birds and their ways;
Year: 1883 (1880s)
Authors: Church, Ella Rodman, b. 1831
Subjects: Birds
Publisher: Philadelphia, Presbyterian board of publication
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

View Book Page: Book Viewer
About This Book: Catalog Entry
View All Images: All Images From Book
Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book.

Text Appearing Before Image:
rd foot would be. Theirlarge pointed wings show that they alsohave great powers of flight. - Parrots spend very little time in nest-building, but bring up their families in thehollows of decayed trees, the eggs, whichvary in number from two to five or six,being laid on the bare, rotten wood. Theyare fond of roosting during the night inthese cavities; and some one says: Atdusk a flock of parrakeets may be seenalighting against the trunk of a sycamoreor any other tree where a considerableexcavation exists within it. Immediatelybelow the entrance the birds all cling tothe bark, and crawl into the hole to passthe night When such a hole does notprove sufficient to hold the whole flock,those around the entrance hook themselveson by their claws and the tip of the uppermandible/ Thats one way of going to bed!laughed Malcolm. I should think theywould drop off. It can scarcely be called going to bed, THE PARROT. 371 was the reply; but this singular styleof sleeping is also peculiar to bats, and
Text Appearing After Image:
PARROT AND YOUNG. possibly to some other creatures whosehabits we shall study. 372 BIRDS AND THEIR WAYS, Do parrots talk to one another whenthey live in the woods ? asked Clara. Not as we talk, dear; the naturalnotes of parrots are merely shrill, piercingscreams. To imitate the human voice, thebird must first hear us speak. Nor canall parrots do this, the power of articulat-ing words being chiefly confined to theordinary species, in which the tongue islarge, broad and fleshy at the tip. Theydo not seem to mind captivity,, even iftaken when grown, and they are partic-ularly fond of human society. The macawespecially is very docile and talkative, andit is more apt to be good-tempered thanare the generality of parrots. Parrots will also imitate other birds andstrange sounds with great exactness. It isrelated that a parrot caught the note of achaffinch so accurately that it was impos-sible to tell the one from the other. Insummer-time Polly used to be indulgedby being placed in a tree, wh

Note About Images