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
Parrot crossbill Parrot crossbill The parrot crossbill ("Loxia pytyopsittacus") is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. The scientific name is from Ancient Greek. "Loxia" derives from "loxos", "crosswise", and "pytyopsittacus" is from "pitus, pituos", "pine", and "psittakos", "parrot". This bird breeds in the pine forests of northwest Europe and into western Russia. There is also a small population in Scotland, adding to the difficulty of distinguishing it from red crossbill and the endemic Scottish crossbill, both of which breed within its range. This crossbill is mainly resident, but will irrupt south and west if its food source fails. This