Volume 15, Plate X / Ornithology (Birds)

Ash-Coloured or Grey Parrot

Psittacus erythacus

A native of western Africa, about 12 inches long, renowned above its kind for docility, mimicry, and clear articulation, and long prized at high prices, with individuals reaching sixty to ninety years of age. Its plumage is ash-grey, deepest on the back and finely margined with paler grey, the tail bright scarlet, the bill black and much hooked, and the orbits clothed in naked white skin.