liantly coloured
parrots; I do not suppose you ever saw such colours anywhere else--the
brightest reds and blues and greens and oranges, all in the same bird.
It seems almost impossible to believe that the feathers really grow like
that; it seems as if someone must have taken a big paintbrush and daubed
on the colours. If it is warm and fine the parrots are out of doors,
each sitting on a perch, and tied by a little thin chain to one leg.
What must it be to see them in their own native forests flying about
among the green trees? Fancy, if we came across a great bird, as large
as the largest doll, brilliantly coloured, flying about in the garden at
home! The parrots come from South America, New Zealand, and Australia;
so they like hot countries, but they seem to do very well in England,
and look quite perky and happy. I will tell you what I think is the
reason of this, the parrots are so conceited that they are pleased when
people admire them, and they like nothing better than to be at the Zoo,
where dozens of people come past every day and say:

'Oh, just look at that one! Did you ever see such a beauty? Look at his
scarlet and blue! Now, who would have thought a bird could be like
that?'

On dull or cold days the parrots are indoors, and if you go into their
house you will hear a tremendous noise. All of them are shrieking and
screaming at once. Perhaps suddenly in the midst of all this din you
will hear a funny parrot voice saying: 'Thank you, my dear; Polly's
quite well,' which will make you jump. When you turn round you will see
it is one of the birds who is talking. They cannot all talk, and those
who do just know a sentence or two without knowing the sense of it, and
say it on all occasions; but very proud they are of the accomplishment.
There are dear little green parrakeets, too, who fly about in flocks in
Australia, looking like flights of animated green leaves.

Besides parrots there are in the same house toucans, birds who have
enormous bills and rather small bodies--in fact, they seem to have spent
their time growing bills. The bill, or beak, is like the claw of a
lobster, and is rich orange colour. The toucan's eye has bright blue
round it, and round that again orange colour. The bird himself is black,
but he has tips of scarlet on his costume and a white throat, so he is
altogether very grand, and he is so solemn that you think he must
imagine himself very superior.

Just beyond the parrot house is a l