Dead Parrot sketch Dead Parrot sketch The "Dead Parrot Sketch", alternatively and originally known as the "Pet Shop Sketch" or "Parrot Sketch", is a sketch from "Monty Python's Flying Circus". It was written by John Cleese and Graham Chapman and initially performed in the show's first series, in the eighth episode ("Full Frontal Nudity", which first aired 7 December 1969). The sketch portrays a conflict between disgruntled customer Mr Praline (played by Cleese) and a shopkeeper (Michael Palin), who argue whether or not a recently purchased "Norwegian Blue" parrot is dead. It pokes fun at the many euphemisms for death used in British
Mulga parrot Mulga parrot The mulga parrot ("Psephotellus varius"), also known as the many-coloured parrot, is endemic to arid scrublands and lightly timbered grasslands in the interior of southern Australia. The mulga parrot was given its current scientific name of "Psephotellus varius" by American zoologist Austin Hobart Clark in 1910, after its name "Psephotus multicolor" was ruled invalid as the original combination ("Psittacus multicolor") had been used for another species. In 1955, British evolutionary biologist Arthur Cain reviewed various described subspecies and found none were valid. Cain concluded in 1955 that within the genus "Psephotus" the mulga parrot was more closely related