# Tony — The Chinese Parrot character guide

> Tony in The Chinese Parrot by Earl Derr Biggers.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** VI Tony, the smart Tony, Poor Tony

**First appearance:** 0005-vi-tony-s-happy-new-year

## Snapshot

A foul-mouthed grey Australian parrot who once haunted a barroom, now the ranch's bilingual mascot and the mystery's most unnerving witness.

## Who they are

Tony is the old caretaker Louie's only companion on the isolated ranch, a bird who rattles along in two languages and repeats anything he hears—including things nobody meant him to keep. His rough past and uncanny mimicry make him both comic relief and a genuine threat to anyone with secrets, since a parrot cannot be bribed into silence. When his voice cuts through the desert night, it turns a routine errand into a puzzle, and his cage becomes the story's strangest source of evidence.

## Relationships

### [Bob Eden](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_chinese_parrot_se/characters/bob_eden)

_professional_

Tony is a local worker or servant who assists Bob Eden with practical matters, maintaining a helpful but distant relationship.

### [Bob Eden](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_chinese_parrot_se/characters/bob_eden)

_professional_

Tony is a local worker or servant who assists Bob Eden with practical matters, maintaining a helpful but distant relationship.

## In the story

### [Madden's Ranch](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_chinese_parrot_se/chapters/v-madden-s-ranch)

The parrot whose scream of 'Help! Murder!' startles everyone, hinting at a violent past.

### [VI: Tony's Happy New Year](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_chinese_parrot_se/chapters/vi-tony-s-happy-new-year)

The parrot sits dejectedly on his perch; Eden exchanges a few phrases with him in Chinese, and Chan believes Tony may reveal secrets.

### [XIII: What Mr. Cherry Saw](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_chinese_parrot_se/chapters/xiii-what-mr-cherry-saw)

The parrot that repeated the victim's cries for help, adding to the terror of the scene.

### [The Road to Eldorado](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_chinese_parrot_se/chapters/xxii-the-road-to-eldorado)

Mentioned as the parrot whose cry revealed the conspiracy; Chan suggests Victor place a wreath on his grave.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_chinese_parrot_se/characters/tony
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_chinese_parrot_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_chinese_parrot_se/characters