CHINA, QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)

Parrots, parakeets and lories have long been admired in China for their colourful plumage and intelligence. In early times flocks of parrots were found in the Long Mountains on the border between modern Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. Because of their ability to mimic human speech, they became known as 'Divine birds of the Western Regions'. From the third century AD, brilliantly coloured parrots were sent as gifts to the Chinese emperors by the rulers of Indonesia and Indochina. The most admired parrots of the Tang dynasty were the so-called five-coloured parrots, two of which were gifted to Tang dynasty emperors. From this period parrots remained popular pet birds for those wealthy enough to afford them.