TRANSIENT GUESTS IN THE BIRD-ROOM. 143 



very droll, as once when he had just taken a 

 piece of bread as big as his head from my 

 hand and was about to beat it to pieces on the 

 floor. He stood for some time holding it up in 

 the air with great dignity, his mouth stretched 

 wide, and never thinking to drop his burden, as 

 most birds would do. Not even laughing at 

 him had the smallest effect. There he stood 

 till he was ready to go on with his meal. 



The temper of the Mexican, however, was 

 very different from our gentle thrushes, whom 

 in manners he so much resembled. He was 

 fierce and masterful from the beginning, and in 

 a room full of peaceable birds soon became a 

 tyrant and a bully. He would be helped first, 

 or make a great outcry about it, and he would 

 have the best when he was out and could help 

 himself ; no one should bathe if he chose to do 

 so, and no one under any circumstances 

 should alight on his cage. All these notions he 

 carried out : the habit of having his own way 

 grew upon him, as it does upon people, until he 

 constituted himself general peace-maker, on the 

 principle that " he would have peace if he had 

 to fight for it." The slightest difference of 

 opinion between two birds would bring out his 

 voice in a loud, authoritative " Tut ! tut ! tut ! " 

 while his chin feathers stood erect, his tail and 

 wings jerked excitedly, and his whole plumage 



