PIPPINELLA

We are getting lots of visits from a female king parrot who likes to drink from the nearby stream. We can tell she is a girl because of the lovely green feathers on her head (the male king parrot has a striking red head with green wings).

We have decided to name her Pippinella.

This was the name of the main character in the book 'Doctor Doolittle and the Green Canary' written by Hugh Lofting way back in 1924.

Pippinella had many adventures before she met Doctor Doolittle, a very kind man who could talk to animals. She told the good Doctor all about her amazing life's journey and in one chapter she recounts her time in a coal mine, just before she was rescued by a very wealthy lady. Click here to read it Green Canary 7.pdf

Of course, parrots are very different to canaries. They are much bigger, for a start, and like to climb about on branches whereas canaries don't. They also like to be handled if they are tamed. Female canaries do not sing the beautiful songs that parrots often do but Pippinnella was a rare exception to this rule.

Do you have king parrots in your garden?

Can you tell us anything about them?