"TRICKS AND MANNERS" OF A CAT-BIRD. 87 



chuckling at their success are plain to see. 

 One of them Chip, by name knows that 

 when he is in his cage, with the door shut, he 

 is safe, and nothing the cat-bird can do dis- 

 turbs him in the least ; but the other Chipee 

 is just as flustered and panic-stricken in her 

 cage as out, and the greatest pleasure of his 

 life is to keep her wrought up to the fluttering 

 point. He has a perfect perception of the dif- 

 ference between the two birds. When both are 

 out he will chase them around the room, from 

 cornice to cornice ; drive them away from the 

 bath, which they all have on a table, purely for 

 fun, as his manner shows. But once caged, he 

 pays no further attention to Chip, while always 

 inventing new ways to worry Chipee. He 

 alights on the perch between the cages, crouches 

 down, with eyes fixed upon her and tail jerk- 

 ing, as if about to annihilate her. She flies in 

 wild panic against the wires, to his great grati- 

 fication. Then he ruffs himself up to look ter- 

 rible, spreads his legs wide apart, blusters, and 

 jerks his body and wings and tail, making 

 feints to rush at her, till she is so frightened 

 that I take pity on her and drive him away. 



One day, when she was more nervous and he 

 more impish than usual, I covered her cage 

 with a towel. He came back as soon as I had 

 left it, and proceeded to inquire into this new 



