USEFUL BIRDS.
There is a well-authenticated account of an English barber, who trained a starling to say, ‘ Gentleman wants to be shaved,’ and hung the bird in his outer room to warn him of the coming of customers. The same bird, the story goes, soon learned to call out, ‘ Gentlemen, pay your money 1’ when the barber’s work was done, and never got the two speeches mixed. A milliner of Paris has, according to a French journal, put a parrot to a much better use even than this English barber made of his starling. She has trained the bird to call out, whenever a customer enters her shop : ‘ Oh, isn’t she pretty !’ It is asserted that the milliner’s business was very soon doubled.
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/NZGRAP18920730.2.50.13
Bibliographic details
New Zealand Graphic, Volume IX, Issue 31, 30 July 1892, Page 772
Word Count
123USEFUL BIRDS. New Zealand Graphic, Volume IX, Issue 31, 30 July 1892, Page 772
Using This Item
See our copyright guide for information on how you may use this title.
Acknowledgements
This material was digitised in partnership with Auckland Libraries. You can find high resolution images on Kura Heritage Collections Online.
Log in