TYRANNUS VERTICALIS. 020 



SO, when he began to clamor for more — thus appearing to be always hungry. 

 Had one person the office of keeping him supplied with food he would con- 

 sequently have been extremely troublesome; but, fortunately, all became 

 interested in him, and ho thus received favors and caresses from all hands. 

 "Wlirn gorged with food, lie usually remained perched upon the shoulder 

 of the one who carried him, but sometimes ho would fly off to his favorite 

 perch, a rope running from the rear of a tent to a stake in the ground; or, 

 if it happened to be midday and the sun particularly oppressive, would 

 take shelter underneath a hoisted undjrella, hung beneath the fly of a tent 

 for the purpose of shading a thermometer, perching upon one of the ribs 

 of the apparatus. Chippy was the earliest riser in camp, and at day- 

 bi'eak bis merry twitter aroused his human companions, of whom his 

 favorite one, the writer, he would often awake by alighting in his face, for 

 lie would invariably select him from the dozen or more persons who lay on 

 the ground wrapi^ed in their blankets. At all times he was greatly averse 

 to being left alone, and when night approached would nestle more closely 

 against one's neck, twittering contentedly until asleep, and if removed 

 exhibiting the greatest disappointment, while he was often so persistent in 

 keeping his place that repeated removals were necessary to induce him to 

 renuiin upon the roost provided for him, inside the tent. 



His almost insatiable appetite was the subject of comment by us all, 

 and speculations were indulged in as to the probable number of grasshop- 

 pers he consumed in a day. It was finally agreed that this should be settled 

 by experiment, so each person was instructed to keep count of the number 

 he himself fed him during the day. At evening notes were compared, and 

 it was found that he had been fed one hundred and twenty grasshoppers 

 since morning! 



From the very first he was so completely tame that he did not exhibit 

 under any circumstances the slightest trace of timidity; he always disliked 

 to be handled, however, but this was evidently on account of his plumage, 

 merely, for he would immediately come to any one who called him, or 

 alight upon a hand held out as an invitation. He soon learned his own 

 name, and knew it so well that when he had strayed some distjinco from 

 camp (as he oitcn did when led away by the temptations of comjianions 

 ;?4 p i: 



