Wilson, the American Naturalist, relates the following experiment on the education of one. The specimen which he used for his purpose was but slightly wounded in the wing, and readily ate the seeds of cockle-burrs almost as soon as it was taken. In travelling through the woods, he bound it up in a handkerchief, which he carried in his pocket, but loosed and fed it always when he rested. He must, however, be allowed to tell part of his own story:-"In recommitting it to 'durance vile' we generally had a quarrel, during which it frequently paid me in kind for the wound I had inflicted, and for depriving it of liberty, by cutting and almost disabling several of my fingers with its sharp and powerful bill. The path through the wilderness between Nashville and Natchez is often bad beyond description. There are dangerous creeks to swim, miles of morass to struggle through, rendered almost as gloomy as night by a prodigious growth of timber, and an underwood of canes and other evergreens, while the descent into these sluggish streams is often ten or fifteen feet perpendicular into a bed of clay. In some of the worst of these places, where I had, as it were, to fight my way through, the Parakeet frequently escaped from my pocket, obliging me to dismount and pursue it through the worst of the morass before I could regain it. On these occasions I was several times tempted to abandon it, but I persisted in bringing it along. When at night I encamped in the woods, I placed it on the baggage beside me, where it usually sat, with great composure, dozing and gazing at the fire, till morning. In this manner I carried it upwards of a thousand miles exposed all day to the jolting of the horse, but liberated at meal-times and in the evening." On arriving at the house of a friend, Wilson placed it in a cage under the portico, and its call-note speedily attracted a number of its fellows. One of these was wounded, and placed beside it,

and the attachment which they showed to each other was truly wonderful; when the last-caught one died, the other appeared quite disconsolate for some days. We must again refer to Wilson for the catastrophe of this most interesting tale of animal history :-" On reaching New Orleans," says he, "I placed a looking-glass beside the place where she usually sat, and the instant she perceived her image all her former fondness seemed to return, so that she could scarcely absent herself from it for a moment. It was evident that she was completely deceived. Always when evening drew on, and often during the day, she laid her head close to the image in the glass, and began to doze with great composure and satisfaction. In this short space she had learned to know her name-to answer and come when called on-to climb up my clothes-sit on my shoulders-and eat from my mouth. I took her with me to sea, determined to persevere in her education; but, destined to another fate, poor Poll, one morning, about daybreak, wrought her way through the cage while I was asleep, instantly flew overboard, and perished in the Gulf of Mexico."

33.-THE AMBOYNA PARROT,

PSITTACUS AMBOINENSIS. Linn.-LE LORY PERRUCHE TRICOLOR.
Buff.-DER AMBOINISCHE SITTICH LORY. Bech.

DESCRIPTION.-It has some resemblance to the Ceram Lory. The French therefore call it L'Aurore. It is sixteen inches long, half of which is occupied by the tail, which is consequently long, but rounded. The beak is three-fourths of an inch long, very much curved, and pointed; the cere is wanting; the nostrils are seated near the forehead; the base of the upper mandible is orange yellow; the middle brighter;

the point and under mandible black; the iris golden yellow; the feet ashy grey; the scales merging into dark brown; the head, neck, and whole of the under part of the body, dark vermilion red; the upper part of the neck is surrounded by an indistinct, narrow sky blue band; the whole of the upper part of the body is of a beautiful green, with a delicate margin of a dark or bluish tinge to the feathers; rump dark blue; the tail black, slightly tinged with blue and green stripes upwards, and merging into green at the base; sometimes the whole of the tail is entirely dark brown; the anal feathers black, with a bright red margin to each; the pinion feathers blackish blue, with green edges; the edge of the wings enclosed with shining light green; the under wings bluish black...

The female is green on the head; the throat, gullet, and breast, the same, with a reddish tinge; the anal feathers dark green, with a red margin; the tail more tinged with green; the beak horny brown, having both above and beneath a reddish tinge.

PECULIARITIES.It comes from Amboyna, is wild, shy, screams geek, and pipes shrilly, but it does not speak. It is treated similarly to the other parrots. It is remarkable that its feathers are so loose as to come off when the bird is handled but they speedily grow again.

34. THE COCKATOOS (PLYCTOLOPHINE)

Are natives of the Indian Islands and Australia, where they live in the woods, and feed upon seeds and soft and stony fruits, which their powerful bill enables them to break with ease. In a state of nature they build their nests in the hollow trunks of decayed trees. When taken young they

are easily tamed, become familiar and attached, but their imitative powers are limited, seldom exceeding a few words in addition to their natural call, cockatoo.

The White-crested Cockatoo, P. galeritus, is called Car'

Grose and Hawkesbury rivers, and in the long meadow near the Nepean river. It makes its nest in the decayed hollows of trees, forming it of the decayed vegetable mould. It lays two eggs, which are white, without spot. The natives find the nest by the birds making "cotora," that is, bark stripped off the smaller branches of trees in the neighbourhood, and cut into small pieces.

35.-THE GREAT WHITE COCKATOO. PSITTACUS CRISTATUS. Linn.-KAKATOES A HUPPE BLANCHE. BuffDER GEMEINE KAKATU. Bech.

DESCRIPTION.-It is of the size of a common fowl, being seventeen inches long. The beak is blackish; the cere black; the irides dark brown; the circle around the eyes bald and white. The entire bird is white, with the exception of the large pinion feathers, and

the outermost feathers of the tail, of which the basal half on the inner side are brimstone colour; the crest is five inches long, and is raised or depressed at will.

HABITAT AND PECULIARITIES.-It is a native of the Moluccas. We usually keep it, like the rest of large Parrots, in a wire bell-shaped cage, arched above, and furnished within with two transverse

perches, and above these a moveable ring of wire-in this ring they are fond of sitting; or it may be chained to a