Dead Parrot sketch of "Death in Paradise". A joke dated AD 400, recently translated from Greek, shows similarities to the Parrot sketch. It was written by Hierocles and Philagrius and was included in a compilation of 265 jokes titled "Philogelos: The Laugh Addict". In the Greek version, a man complains to a slave-merchant that his new slave has died. The slave-merchant replies, "When he was with me, he never did any such thing!" In Mark Twain's humorous short story "A Nevada Funeral", two characters use a series of euphemisms for death including 'kicked the bucket' and 'departed to that mysterious country from whose
Bourke's parrot Bourke's parrot The Bourke's parrot ("Neopsephotus bourkii", formerly known as "Neophema bourkii"), also known as the blue-vented parrot, sundown parrot, pink-bellied parrot, Bourke's parakeet, Bourke or "Bourkie", is a small parrot originating in Australia and the only species in its genus, Neopsephotus. This species is sometimes placed in the genus "Neophema" and there is an ongoing discussion about the proper taxonomic placement of this species. It is a grass parrot approximately 19 cm long and weighing around 45 grams. It is named after General Sir Richard Bourke, Governor of New South Wales from 1831 to 1837. The Bourke’s parrot is