There are several other European birds
of good voice, chief among them, of course,
the nightingale, which, however, does not
thrive in a cage. The green linnet is a
pretty fellow, and, mated with the canary,
produces the finest of singing birds. Other
handsome foreign birds are the Java sparrow,
a quarrelsome little fellow ; the Japanese
robin, a good songster and ready imitator,
and the beautiful South American troopial,
a lovely pet with excellent powers of song.
Parrots.
Among cage birds not noted for sweet-
ness of song, yet of high popularity, maybe
named the gray parrot, a familiar inmate of
hundreds of households, and widely wel-
come for the part it takes in the conversa-
tion of the fariiily. It is, in^its way, as
imitative as the mocking bird, but its vocal
powers are adapted to the imitation of words
instead of song notes, and its achievements
in this direction are often extraordinary, es-
pecially as the uncanny bird frequently makes
his words fit the occasion so closely that he
seems to know well what they mean.
The domesticated parrot has no objec-
tion to the cage, often manifesting uneasi-
ness when let out for a promenade. The
THE MODEL COOK BOOK
91
food of the gray parrot should consist of
maize, oats, wheat, and bird-seeds, with oc-
casional nuts and biscuits, and ripe fruit in
its season, this being very useful and whole-
some. They can be easil}'' taught to eat
potato, and bread and milk and other soft
food may be freely given. They will eat
meat readily, but, as it tends to produce
disease, it should not be given . They should
have frequent opportunities to bathe, and,
if they fail to do so, should be showered in
summer, now and then, with warm water
from a syringe.
The Amazon parrot, a more highly-col-
ored bird, is as good a talker as the gray.
Its plumage is green over most of the body.
Its food and general treatment should be as
above described. Of other large parrots we
may name the king paiTot, a splendid red
and green bird, Pennant's parrakeet, and
the rosellas. These must all have the same
diet of seeds and vegetable food, with fruit
in the season. The beautiful king parrot,
one of the quietest of these birds, breeds
freely in captivity.
Parrots usually leave off screaming when
they grow tame and familiar, but there are
some hopeless cases, and several cockatoos
together may prove worse than a brass band.
The beaks of the larger parrots are also so
strong that only very stout cages can stand
their attacks, and bad-tempered birds need
to be dealt with cautiously, as they could
break or sever a finger with great ease.
As a general rule, the food of all parrots
should consist of grain and seeds, especially
millet, maize, or harvest grains in the ear or
on the stalk. Sunflower seed is highly rel-
ished, and such green food as salad herbs,
chickweed, groundsel, etc., should be given
freely, with a twig from some green tree to
gnaw at. Biscuits are good in moderation,
as also nuts and sweet fruits.
Page 113
Presented as published in 1901. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
There are several other European birds of good voice, chief among them, of course, the nightingale, which, however, does not thrive in a cage. The green linnet is a pretty fellow, and, mated with the canary, produces the finest of singing birds. Other handsome foreign birds are the Java sparrow, a quarrelsome little fellow ; the Japanese robin, a good songster and ready imitator, and the beautiful South American troopial, a lovely pet with excellent powers of song.
Parrots.
Among cage birds not noted for sweetness of song, yet of high popularity, maybe named the gray parrot, a familiar inmate of hundreds of households, and widely welcome for the part it takes in the conversation of the family. It is, In its way, as imitative as the mocking bird, but its vocal powers are adapted to the imitation of words instead of song notes, and its achievements in this direction are often extraordinary, especially as the uncanny bird frequently makes his words fit the occasion so closely that he seems to know well what they mean.
The domesticated parrot has no objection to the cage, often manifesting uneasiness when let out for a promenade. The
food of the gray parrot should consist of maize, oats, wheat, and bird-seeds, with occasional nuts and biscuits, and ripe fruit in its season, this being very useful and wholesome. They can be easily taught to eat potato, and bread and milk and other soft food may be freely given. They will eat meat readily, but, as it tends to produce disease, it should not be given . They should have frequent opportunities to bathe, and, if they fail to do so, should be showered in summer, now and then, with warm water from a syringe.
The Amazon parrot, a more highly-colored bird, is as good a talker as the gray. Its plumage is green over most of the body. Its food and general treatment should be as above described. Of other large parrots we may name the king parrot, a splendid red and green bird, Pennant's parrakeet, and the rosellas. These must all have the same diet of seeds and vegetable food, with fruit in the season. The beautiful king parrot, one of the quietest of these birds, breeds freely in captivity.
Parrots usually leave off screaming when they grow tame and familiar, but there are some hopeless cases, and several cockatoos together may prove worse than a brass band. The beaks of the larger parrots are also so strong that only very stout cages can stand their attacks, and bad-tempered birds need to be dealt with cautiously, as they could break or sever a finger with great ease.
As a general rule, the food of all parrots should consist of grain and seeds, especially millet, maize, or harvest grains in the ear or on the stalk. Sunflower seed is highly relished, and such green food as salad herbs, chickweed, groundsel, etc., should be given freely, with a twig from some green tree to gnaw at. Biscuits are good in moderation, as also nuts and sweet fruits.