HILL, OR ROCK, MINOR. 215 



HILL, OR ROCK, MINOR. 



THIS bird has a different name in every book that refers to him. Some writers 

 call him the Mina ; others, the Mino ; while Bechstein gives him the full title of 

 "The Minor Grackle." 



The Hill Minor, or Musical Grackle, is ten inches long, and about the size of a 

 small dove. 



The plumage is glossy, and of a rich black, shading into violet and purple, ac- 

 cording to the light and position the bird is placed in, in reference to the observer. 

 The wings and tail are black, the former having a broad bar of white formed by a 

 series of quill-feathers tipped in such a manner as to show a solid color. Appended 

 back of the eyes, and passing over the ears, are bright yellow fleshy flaps called 

 caruncles. The naked space under each eye is bright yellow. The beak is a deep 

 orange, and the feet are yellow : the eyes are a beautiful hazel, and express, in a 

 trained bird, great intelligence. 



Many authorities class the Minor in the Starling family, and perhaps not 

 incorrectly. He certainly closely resembles that family of birds in both his physical 

 and mental qualities : especially is he akin to the Common Starling in lively man- 

 ners and inquisitive disposition. In the estimation of persons familiar with both 

 birds, the Minor is considered a plainer and better talker than any of the Parrot 

 species. His powers of imitation can be so highly developed as to render him a 

 most interesting study if not a real companion. Not only is it my own experience, 

 but also the experience of bird-lovers in many widely separated countries, that the 

 Minor, more than any other bird, acquires mental traits quite like any one with 

 whom he may for some mouths be brought in contact. 



A lady friend, who was for many years a missionary in the East Indies, had a 

 Minor which she kept in the chapel. At certain seasons of the year all the children 

 of the neighborhood were accustomed to enter the chapel at six o'clock in the even- 

 ing, and intone the Lord's Prayer and the Ten Commandments. Judge of the lady's 

 surprise one evening, when the children were later than usual, to hear her Minor 

 commence with the prayer, and not stop until he had repeated it and the command- 

 ments. 



Excepting the human family, this is the only talking species which will reply 

 when spoken to. The finest-talking Parrots are generally silent when one wishes 

 them to talk ; and, the more they are urged to speak by being questioned, the more 

 silent and attentive they become. Not so with the Minor, for he is ready to talk 

 with every one who will listen. A famous bird kept in a down-town hotel in New 

 York a few years ago, was well known to all frequenters of the locality. When 



