54 



THE OOLOGIST. 



alwaja sure to call him from any business 

 he might be about. If, as sometimes 

 happened, his morning meal of worms was 

 not forthcoming, he would go the i)lace 

 where they were ;,'enera'ly dug, and caw till 

 someone took the hint and dug them for 

 him. He would always go out of Lis way 

 to kill the big h'liry caterpillars but was 

 never known to eat one. 



He was greatly delighted when given a 

 Sparrow and generally carried it around 

 with him for several days before devouring 

 it. Like an Owl, he always threw up the 

 feathers and other indigestible parts. 



If given more food than sufficed for his 

 present needs, he invariably had a hard 

 time to conceal it, and would sometimes 

 spend hours poking it into one place after 

 another and cackling to himself about it. 

 When a suitable place was found, the 

 food was secreted and Grip would take 

 himself off, not beyond sight of the Jplace, 

 however, for if anyone moved toward the 

 spot. Grip would be there before him 

 and with exultant cries bear the prize off to 

 a place of greater safety. 



When thirsty. Grip would fly to the 

 kitchen faucet and caw till the water was 

 tiirned on, when he would squat iu the 

 sink and allow it to drop into his open bill; 

 if the water happei.ed to be running too 

 swiftly for this, he would stand on the edge 

 of the sink and take little bites of the water 

 as it fell. 



Like all other crows, Grip early developed 

 a mischievous disposition. He w'as soon 

 master of the dog, cat and chickens and 

 drove them about whenever he plea.sed; he 

 liked particularil}' to tease the cat and 

 would tweak her tail at every oj^portunity. 

 On wash-days he amused himself by pulling 

 the clothes-pins from the line, or walking 

 on the clean clothes with muddy feet; this 

 amusement soon got him into trouble, for 

 the neighbors began to complain, and he 

 was deprived of his liberty on such diiys. 

 jJ^Wheu peas were to be shelled for dinner 

 Grip was always on hand to pick up and 

 hide any that might fall to the flo >r. His 

 choice of hiding-places for anything nut 

 eatable, wa« in the writer's pockets or down 



his back. He loved to alight on anyone's 

 shouller with a nail or other small article 

 which he would drop down their back and 

 then fly off before they were aware of his 

 intentions. If he found anyone reading 

 on the perch, he would, if allowed, take a 

 nap on their shoulder or amuse himself by 

 tugging at butt(mK or exi)loriug pockets for 

 small articiles which he would try to poke 

 into one's ears or up one's sleeve 



When the pansies began to bloom, Grij) 

 was often found busily pickin;j; the blos- 

 soms which he hid under the nearest 

 plantain leaf or iu the cracks of the side- 

 walk; it did little good to drive him from 

 the beds, for as soon as the coast was clear 

 he would go back again; but when satistied 

 in his own mind that he had picked enough 

 he would leave the beds of bis own 

 accord. 



Grip was an object of terror to small boys 

 whom he| would follow aboirt pecking at 

 their legs until they were glad to run away : 

 for grown persons he generally showe<l 

 more respect, and restricted hostilitiee with 

 them, to marching along behind them : 

 sometimes he varied the monotony of this, 

 by sitting quitely among the majjles along 

 the street until a person appeared, when 

 he would swooji down u])0u them with Ins 

 loudest cinr, and then fly off greatly pleased 

 with the fright he had occasioned. 



Among the few words he c«)uld articulate 

 he evidently gave the preference to " hello," 

 saying it with many variations of th tone 

 to suit the occasion. He would sit on the 

 fence and tease the dog by a succession of 

 queer barks, ending the performance with 

 " Hcl-o-o ? " 



As autumn approached, Grip absented 

 himself fur longer and longer periods: 

 several times he was found in the company 

 of his wild relations. One day late in t e 

 tall he disappeared again and wns never 

 seen after We have often wond'^red 

 whether he was shot or wh( thether he went 

 off with the wild crows ; but since he had 

 been seen with his wild friends, the Intter 

 sup])Osition is probably the correct one. 

 WiM,,.uiD N. Clt^te, Binghamton, N. Y. 



