164 Bird -Lore 



could be called a molt — but became more and more droopy, refusing 

 or indifferently eating the various things we tried, till some one gave 

 him a fly ! Then all went well ; he ate all the flies we could catch, 

 sometimes twenty at a meal, and also wasps and bees. When he saw 

 somebody bringing one of the latter dainties he would jump about in 

 great excitement, then, snatching the insect, kill it with a few quick 

 pinches and swallow it, poison and all. He also learned the motion 

 made in catching a fly, and was on the alert as soon as he saw me 

 snatch for one. 



Towards the end of the month I let him out of doors — though 

 he had often been out in the house — and after that he had exercise 

 nearly every day, flying about a little, coming readily to me when 

 I whistled, and generally returning to -the cage quickly enough for a 

 few flies. He evidently regarded the cage as home, for let any large 

 bird pass at what he considered too close quarters and in he went 

 like a flash, there to remain till the danger was past. On one occa- 

 sion, when he was hopping among the plants in the house, I saw him 

 carefully watching a Crow that was fighting his way against a heavy 

 wind. Suddenly the Crow gave way, making a swoop almost to the 

 window, and in far less time than it can be told the Catbird was in 

 the cage and up on a perch, so terrified that it was some minutes 

 before he was himself again. 



About the middle of September Oliver Twist caught the migra- 

 tion fever, and when no one was in sight was very uneasy in his cage, 

 not only during the day but at night as well. In the evening the 

 bird was always moved to a dark back hall, where he usually settled 

 down at once ; now he was most restless, chucking and mewing 

 sometimes for nearly an hour, and not until late in October did he 

 finally become quiet. Cool days, also, made him more uneasy. 



During the fall months Oliver ate every sort of berry I could find, 

 from dogwood to Boston ivy, with two exceptions : those of the wild 

 rose and the catbriar. The seeds of the ivy berries he always ejected, 

 perfectly clean and free from pulp, beginning about half an hour 

 after swallowing them ; he would work the bill a little, as if the seed 

 were in his mouth, a moment later pushing it out with the tongue. 

 At first they appeared quite rapidly — two or three or even more 

 in a minute — then more slowly, and continued for at least three- 

 quarters of an hour. 



As the house flies disappeared, the big blue and green species, 

 that during the summer were simply scorned, grew quite tempting ; 

 but even these gave out, and it became very difficult to find proper 

 food for the little fellow. Figs for a time supplied the place of ber- 

 ries, but he tired of them at last, and bits of meat never passed for 



