1S92.] BoLLEs, Touiig S((fisiickers in Captivity. 1^7 



come (jiiite brilliant ; the yellow and black below, and the red on 

 head and throat niakino^ him a decidedly distini^uished lookinj^ 

 bird He made np for all Nmnber One's earlier luillving and 

 brow-beating by scolding him and driving him from perch to 

 perch. When free in the room, Two and Three spent most of 

 their time npon a great horizontal timber, a portion of the frame- 

 work of the barn, which ran throngh the upper part of the room. 

 It had been rough-hewn by the sturdy hands wdiich had framed 

 the barn many a long year before, and patches of bark still clung 

 to its surface. The devoted couple ran up and down the upper 

 surface of this beam, tapping from time to time upon its flat face, 

 never upon its edges. One stayed in the cage much of the time 

 when Two and Three were together. He seemed jealous and far 

 from cheerful. None of them ever went back to the cage vohm- 

 tarily, and as time passed they did their best to avoid me when I 

 was ready to lock them up. 



On the evening of September 13 the birds were very restless. 

 Between eight and nine they were drmnming furiously. The 

 night was dark, and not a ray of light found its way into their 

 cage. On September 16 they continued their hammering until 

 10 P.M. They took less syrup than usual at this time and caught 

 practically no insects. On September 3 [ my notes speak again 

 of the small quantity of syrup consumed bv the birds. On vSep- 

 tember 26 the birds were brought to Cambridge in a small box. 

 They were fed in the usual way, and drank frequently from their 

 dish while the train was at rest. The next day they w^ere given 

 a room to themselves. It was eight feet by five and was lighted 

 by a window looking into an upper entry. Opposite and above 

 the window was a large skylight through which sunlight streamed 

 into their room for several hours each day. They promptly chose 

 the curtain roller at the top of the window as their favorite perch, 

 and to this I attached their syrup dish, which they recognized and 

 used at once. 



For several days they seemed perfectly well and contented. 

 They hammered the woodwork, cut holes in tiie plastering until 

 they reached the laths, and drilled small holes in the floor. Ab- 

 solutely no insects gained access to their room. On October 4 I 

 state in my notes that they never seemed more happy or more en- 

 ergetic. They bathed freely at this time while I was iri their 

 roorn, and seemed to enjoy the water greatly. 



