parrot (parot)

[ The verb experience is, to Mr. White, parroting Dean Alford, altogether objectionable. F. Hall , False Philol., p. 31. II. in trans. 1. To chatter as a parrot. Put you in mind in whose presence you stand; if you parrot to me long-go to. Chapman, Widow's Tears, v. 5. 2. To repeat, parrot-like, what one has heard or been taught. Pa ages of great musical effect, metrical bravuras, are absolutely vulgarized by too perpetual a parroting . De Quincey, Style, iii. Gray Parrot ( Psittacus erythacus). more specific names. When used in a stricter sense, it usually refers to Old World birds of moderate or rather large size, of stout build, with strong beak, fleshy tongue, and short square tail, as in the restricted genus Psittacus , of which the African P. erythacus , of a gray color with a bright-red tail, is a characteristic example and one of the commonest of cage-birds. The natural cries of parrots are, as a rule, extremely loud and harsh; but many of the fleshy-tongued species can be taught to articulate words and even sentences in a perfectly intelligible manner. Most parrots are expert climbers, and in scrambling about use the bill as well as the feet, the upper mandible being peси- liarly movable. The tongue in some species is also used as an organ of touch, almost of prehension, objects being often held and handled between the tip of the tongue and the hook of the beak. These birds are mostly vegetarian, Milton , Letters of State, June 28, 1650. feeding upon seeds and especially soft fruits, [ parricide = Sp. parricide2 (par'i-sid), n. Pg. It. parricidio , parricidium , the murder of one's father, pater , father, father,+- cidium , cæ dere, kill. Cf. parricide1 .] The murder of a parent or of one to whom reverence is due. We hear, our bloody cousins are bestow'd In England and in Ireland, not confe ing Their cruel parricide . Shak . , Macbeth, iii. 1. 32. By the Roman law parricide, or the murder of one's parents or children, was punished in a much severer manner than any other kind of homicide. Black stone, Com., IV. xiv. parr i cid i oust (par-i-sid'i-us), a. [L. parr i cidium, parricide (see parricide2 ), + -ous.] Same as parricidal. Sir T. Browne, Vulg. Err., iii. 16. Parridæ (par'i-dē), n. pl. [NL., are carnivorous. Their temper is uncertain, though sev eral kinds exhibit the most affectionate and gentle disposition, at least toward one another. In size and shape parrots differ greatly, more than is usual among the representatives of any one family of birds: some of the smallest species are no larger than sparrows, as those of the genus Nasiterna, while the great macaws attain a length of about three feet. Their coloration is equally diversified: some are black or gray; some are snowy-white; green is the most characteristic color; yellow, red, and blue, often of the most brilliant tone, are very common; and many parrots are variegated with all these colors. The sexes are usually colored alike. Gaudine of coloration reaches its extreme in the macaws, while the most beautiful and dainty tinting is common among the lories, and plain or somber shades are exceptional throughout the order. Of parrots of all kinds there are about 350 species, cla ed in from 25 to 100 genera according to the views of different ornithologists. They abound in all tropical countries, but seldom extend into temperate countries, except Australia and New Zealand. In round numbers, the geo graphical distribution of parrots is as follows: America is richest in species, having 150, only one of which occurs in the United States, though two or three others come nearly or quite to the Mexican border; the Moluccas and Papuan islands have 80 species, Australia 60, and Polynesia 30; 25 are African; and 20 are peculiar to Asia. See also cuts under cockatoo, Conurus, corella, Euphema, macaw, Melopsittacus, and parrakeet. I think the best grace of wit will shortly turn into silence, and discourse grow commendable in none only but parrots. Shak., M. of V., iii. 5. 51. Asled from the chan the dozornis : so parrot-coal (parot-kol), n. A variety of coal which crepitates while burning, as cannel-coal. parrot-cro bill (par'ot-kros bil), n. A kind of parrot-finch, Loxia pityopsittacus . parroter (par'ot-ér), n . One who merely repeats what has been learned by rote; one who servile- ly adopts the language or opinions of others. IMG:content-2383.jpg:[graphic] The Parrot-fish Scarus squalid us. family Scaridæ, common in tropical seas. (b) Various species of the labroid genus Labrichthys, especially L. psitta cula (New Zealand, Tasmania, Australia). (c) Species of the labroid genus Platy glo us, especially P. radiatus, the blue parrot-fish (Florida), also called bluefish and don cell a. See bluefish, 5. (d) A blennioid fish, the shanny, Blennius pholis (Ireland). (e) One of certain gymnodonts. See Gym nodontes and rabbit - fish.