''THESE ARE YOUR BROTHERS:' 215 



perch, jumping back and forth, and seeming to 

 like the motion. The desire for amusement is 

 also shown by a habit of throwing things down 

 to see them drop. Several birds have liked to 

 throw pins from the cushion, and look over to 

 observe the fall ; and a cat-bird never came 

 near a spool without pushing it over, rolling it 

 to the edge of desk or table, and noticing the 

 result with interest. This is true not only of 

 birds in a house, which may be supposed spe- 

 cially in need of something to pass away the 

 hours, but I have seen sparrows amuse them- 

 selves in the same way, throwing small objects 

 — leaf stems, I think — from a roof, and look- 

 ing over to see them flutter to the ground. 



One bird diverted himself after the manner 

 of a " sportsman " hunting a fox, by chasing 

 smaller birds from one side of a room to the 

 other, and the more frightened he could make 

 them the more he exulted in the " sport." He 

 would also run the length of a cornice in a 

 panic-stricken way, as though suddenly gone 

 mad, stop short at the last inch, turn instantly, 

 and repeat the performance, and he would keep 

 it up for an hour. The fun of another, a gold- 

 finch, consisted in turning " back-summersets." 

 He would hang, head downward, from the roof 

 of his cage, walk about in that position, using 

 his bill to help, like a parrot, and at last give a 



