TWENTY YEARS IN PANDEMONIUM

Dominion, Volume 19, Issue 254, 10 July 1926, Page 22

TWENTY YEARS IN PANDEMONIUM

Twenty yeais in pandemonium may be said to bo the experience of Mr. W. Alden, held keeper of the Parrot House at tho London Zoo. . Keeper Alden’s ears are so mured to discord, however, that he is quite proud of the vocal accomplishments of his charges. His particular favourite is probably Cocky, a 55-year-old Australian silver-crested cockatoo, who came lo Hie Zoo ID years ago. “Cocky,” said Keeper Alden, will ask to come out of his cage, pick his own key from a bunch, and open the door by lilting u.p tho small latch. “Ho will turn somersaults upon command, and his usual remark to passersby is. "Want a drink?” When pwplo say ‘What?’ Cocky replies quite plainly, ‘Want, a drink of water?’—as though ho irerft afraid of giving offence!” “Another old favourite of mine is Norah, a blue and yellow macaw. When taken out of doors m her swing, the first thing she calls out is ‘Hold tight! "She will bark and meow just like a dog or a cat, while another trick is to mimic people with a cold, coughing and sneezing exactly as they do. “Wo have had some ‘operatic stars here at times, including several pets of Madame Patti, who, trained by her. used to run right up the scale to the highest notes. Amongst our performing birds, Mary, a cockatoo, is a won-, derfnl dancer. Though 100 years old. she still waltzes and jazzes. One of our most amusing birds is a small Senegal parrot, who will ‘die’ to order. "In training parrots you must never lose your temper,” added Keeper Alden. "You' have to be very patient, but. when vou have trained them, they will never forget. Some parrots, however, are very vicious, anti you can never teach them anything-”