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AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



cat caught him and brought him to the house. I keep him in a cage 

 about nine feet square. On the south side of the roof I left a large open 

 space to admit the sunshine on wintery days and also to allow a sprin- 

 kle of rain now and then. I gave him every comfort a captive bird can 

 have, for I do not want him to rise up in the "limitless hereafter" and 

 charge me with ill-treatment. So far as I can judge he has no thought 

 of work beyond the preparation or preservation of his food. He will 

 hide his acorns or prune pits in various parts of his house or in the 

 ground, to be recovered when required or when softened by the mois- 

 ture. 



I think a prune pit is too hard for him, but you should see him open 

 acorns. Taking one to a perch, he will hold it in both feet and hammer 

 it with great vigor. When he has opened it he pecks it lightly, extract- 

 ing the kernal and looking up, he seems to say, "It's mighty fine." 



Jimmie is of a very cheerful disposition and spends much of his time 

 at play. I gave him a new perch one day, which, as he alighted upon 

 it, would squeak loudly. That was just what he wanted. He just jump- 

 ed up and down upon that perch for about two hours, until he had jump- 

 ed all the squeak out of it. 



Each time I make an improvement in his house, he notices it immed- 

 iately and proceeds to get all the fun he can out of it. A swing is too 

 puerile a thing for him and he scorns to sit upon it. The only notice he 

 gives it as far as I have seen, is to give it a kick as he flies by. 



Recently I put a Cal. Jay, three House Finches and a Golden-crowned 

 Sparrow in with Jimmie. I put the smaller birds in first and for several 

 weeks all went well and perfect harmony seemed to prevail. Later I 

 put the Cal. Jay into the cage, and then the trouble began. One by one 

 the small birds were found dead, headless and featherless, until only one 

 House Finch remained. I gave him his liberty and now have only the 

 two Jays, and the California one is the master of the house. 



