Some Bird Orphans 



By MISS L. H. SCHROEDER. Amsterdam. Montgomery Co.. N. Y. 



JUNE 12, 1909, a junior member of the Audubon Society brought me 

 a Httle rusty-looking bird, fully feathered, but perfectly helpless. The 

 boy said he found him near the river, and his father said it was a young 

 Crow, and wanted to have it killed. I could not say what sort of a bird it 

 was; but it was a bird, and must be cared for. He was too young to take 

 food, and for many days I was obliged to force open his bill and feed him. 

 Slowly he grew, and learned to take food. In July, his feathers began to 

 change; his head became a beautiful blue, and the wings and tail an iridescent 

 purj)le and I knew that it was a Bronzed Crackle. He then ventured to fly 

 on the limb of a tree near the door, but came at my call at any time, walking 

 in and out at his pleasure during the day, and never failing to come in early 

 each evening, to be put to bed in his cage. If went out he followed me like 

 a little dog, and I was obliged to steal out to go on the street. 



It would fill many pages were I to recount the amusing things he did 

 during the day. One of his favorite places was a shelf in the kitchen on which 

 stood a clock and a number of other things which interested him very much. 

 He would work with great energy until the clock door was opened, and then 

 watch the pendulum go back and forth. Among the things on the shelf was 

 a basket filled with balls of cotton and other material for mending; all these 

 he threw on the floor, one by one, and, when the basket was empty, he sat 

 in it seemingly much pleased with his new bed. Often, when I was at dinner, 

 he would sit on my shoulder and watch, and in a moment his bill would be 

 in my ear and he would fairly shout. At breakfast, he generally sat in my lap 

 and had his share of toast and coffee, drinking the coffee from a teaspoon. 



It has been said that the Crackle is fond of corn, and does considerable dam- 

 age to corn-fields. I experimented with cracked corn, green corn, boiled corn, 

 canned corn, and corn in all shapes, but he would have none of it; but a nice 

 fat berry bug or a succulent spider were never refused. He would not touch 

 any sort of fruit, but a cracker, a bit of cake, or a little roasted or boiled meat 

 were eaten with a relish. Sometimes he would fly on my shoulder and put 

 his bill in my mouth, to force it open, and then examine my teeth, to see if 

 they were firm,- — not a very pleasant proceeding when I thought of the berry 

 bugs and spiders! As the summer advanced, he took long flights to the woods, 

 and at times was gone for hours; but he always returned to his home, and came 

 to my hand at my call anywhere. When the leaves began to turn, I expected 

 him to go southward ; but September came and passed, and he seemed to have 

 no thought of going. October 18, in the morning, he seemed restless, and 

 finally flew away, and, as it had grown quite cold, I felt sure he had migrated. 

 October 22, he returned, and came to the window to be let in out of the cold, 

 and when I went out he flew to my shoulder and expressed his joy in every 



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