226 THE STORY OF A BIRD LOVER 



as if to say, " Well, I had no idea you would get 

 off so quick ; better get on again." 



Such were the domestic animals about the 

 " Little Palace of Montezuma " ; and it is only 

 necessary to speak of some tame orioles and 

 mocking-birds to complete the list. These birds, 

 too, though they had cages, were allowed to go in 

 and out about the house pretty much as they 

 pleased. Frequently, in the summer time, when 

 reading at night by lamplight, many insects, at- 

 tracted by the light, littered the table. Then one 

 of the mocking-birds would spend a long time 

 satisfying his appetite and instinct, catching the 

 deluded beetles and moths hovering about. This 

 mocking-bird was caught as a fledgling when he 

 was perhaps four weeks old, and was reared by 

 hand. When six weeks old, two Scott's orioles 

 were taken from a nest ; these were little fellows, 

 just beginning to show feathers. There was only 

 a single cage, and they were put into it, together 

 with the young mocking-bird. Grasshoppers were 

 the staple food, and had to be broken and fed to 

 the fledgling orioles. The mocking-bird in no way 

 objected to the newcomers. To my astonishment, 

 in a few days, when I gave him a grasshopper, I 

 saw him kill it, beat it to pieces, and then go down 

 to the two little orioles, and into their gaping 

 mouths place the fragments as a parent bird 

 would do. From this time on it was not neces- 



