156 IN THE TWILIGHT. 



As dusk came on the brown thrush began a 

 wonderful series of postures, more peculiar and 

 varied than one would suppose possible to so 

 large and apparently clumsy a bird. Some- 

 times he stretched up very tall, then instantly 

 crouched as if about to spring ; one moment he 

 turned his head downward as though to dive 

 off, then wheeled and faced the other way ; 

 now he drew his body out long to a point, head 

 and tail exactly on a level, then head and tail 

 thrust up, making his back the shape of a bow ; 

 at one time he threw his head back as though 

 about to turn a back somersault, then scraped 

 his bill, shook himself out, and made the harsh 

 breathing I have spoken off ; in another mo- 

 ment he spread his tail like a fan, and instantly 

 closed it again ; then turned his head on one 

 side very far, while his tail hung out the other 

 side, and in this odd position jerked himself 

 along by short jumps the whole length of his 

 perch. Between the postures and on every 

 occasion he scraped his bill violently. Next 

 began movements : first he ran down his three 

 perches, across the floor, and hopped to the 

 upper one from the outside, touching his feet 

 to the wires as he went, so rapidly that my 

 eyes could not follow him ; then he alighted on 

 the perch with a graceful flop of one wing, 

 sometimes also bowing his head several times, 



