Parrots in history

Ctesias a Greek scholar, alive one hundred years before Aristotle, is the first known chronicler of a parrot, namely what we can suppose to be a Blossom Headed Parakeet, from India. Many parrots were brought ot Rome also from Africa by explorers commissioned by Emperor Nero. They led cossetted lives often in cages of tortoise shell or ivory and on the flip side were sometimes regarded as delicacies for the table. Follwoing the fall of Rome not much is heard of parrots until the 15th century when once again mankind looked outside of himself and bagen to explore the world once more. It is now known also that the Native American was involved in the trade of parrots and remains found indicate a trade route through to Mexico. An Umbrella Cockatoo was the favorite pet of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick the Second, and in the Vatican is a room called the Camera di Pappaglio, a reference to the popularity of parrots as pets for successive Popes. Queen Victoria also had an African Grey Parrot that sang ‘God save the Queen’, so as you see Parrots have played a prominent part in history.