OUT OF DOORS WITH NATURE. 331 



ferred Indian corn meal and hempseed. It appeared fonder 

 of insects than birds of that genus are supposed to be, and 

 ate grasshoppers and crickets with peculiar relish. It would 

 at times sit for hours watching the flies as they passed about 

 it, and snatched at, and often secured such wasps as now 

 and then approached the pieces of fruit thrown into the cage. 

 Very often, of fine moonshiny nights, it would tune its pipe, 

 and sing sweetly, but not loudly, remaining quietly perched 

 and in the same position. Whilst singing during the day, it 

 was in the habit of opening its wings and gently raising 

 them, somewhat in the manner of the Mocking Bird. I 

 found it very difficult to preserve this bird during winter, 

 and was obliged for that purpose to place it in a room heated 

 by a stove to summer temperature. It was a lively and very 

 gentle companion of my study for nearly three years ; it died 

 of cold the third winter. It frequently escaped from the 

 cage, but never exhibited the least desire to leave me, for it 

 invariably returned to some portion of the house at the ap- 

 proach of night. Its song continued about six weeks during 

 summer, and about two in the autumn ; at all other times it 

 simply uttered a faint cluck, and seemed to possess many of 

 the ordinary habits of the Blue Grosbeak.' " 



This bird frequents the deep forests of the South, and sel- 

 dom gets farther north than Kentucky. It is very fond of 

 alder-berries, upon a bunch of which my wife has placed her 

 bird. 



What a fine example of sound logic we have, by the way, 

 in the incident mentioned above, of the Grosbeak cutting off 

 its wounded toe with its own sharp beak. Could any learned 

 Professor of Surgery, scalpel in hand, have managed his 

 own case better. 



Here is another anecdote to the same point, which was 

 related to Mr. Wilson concerning the Brown Thrush. Wil- 

 son says: 



" Concerning the sagacity and reasoning faculty of this 

 bird, my venerable friend, Mr. Bartram, writes me as follows: 



