Dead Parrot sketch culture. The "Dead Parrot" sketch was inspired by a "Car Salesman" sketch that Palin and Chapman had done in "How to Irritate People". In it, Palin played a car salesman who repeatedly refused to admit that there was anything wrong with his customer's (Chapman) car, even as it fell apart in front of him. That sketch was based on an actual incident between Palin and a car salesman. In "Monty Python Live at Aspen", Palin said that this salesman "had an excuse for everything". John Cleese said on the same show that he and Chapman "believed that there was something
Cape parrot Cape parrot The Cape parrot ("Poicephalus robustus") or Levaillant's parrot is a large, temperate forest dwelling parrot of the genus "Poicephalus" endemic to South Africa. It was formerly grouped as a subspecies along with the savanna-dwelling brown-necked parrot "(P. fuscicollis fuscicollis)" and grey-headed parrot "(P. f. suahelicus)", but is now considered a distinct species. The Cape parrot is a short-tailed moderately large bird with a very large beak used to crack all sorts of hard nuts and fruit kernels, especially those of African yellowwood trees ("Podocarpus" spp.). This contrasts with the closely related savanna species ("Poicephalus fuscicollis") which feeds on