THE OOLOGIST. 



alwnj s sure to call him from any business 

 he might be about. If, as sometimes 

 happened, his morning meal of worms was 

 not forthcoming, he would go the place 

 where they were genera'ly dug, and caw till 

 someone took the hint and dug them for 

 him. He would always go out of his way 

 to kill the big hairy caterpillars but was 

 never known to eat one. 



He was greatly delighted when given a 

 Sparrow and generally carried it around 

 with him for several days before devouring 

 it. Like an Owl, he always threw up the 

 feathers and other indigestible parts. 



If given more food than sufficed for his 

 present needs, he invariably had a hard 

 time to conceal it, and would sometimes 

 spend hours poking it into one place after 

 another and cackling to himself about it. 

 When a suitable place was found, the 

 food was secreted and Grip would take 

 himself off, not beyond sight of the [place, 

 however, for if anyone moved tovvard the 

 spot, Grip would be there before him 

 and with exultant cries bear the prize off to 

 a place of gi-eater safety. 



When thirsty, Grip woiild fly to the 

 kitchen faucet and caw till the water was 

 turned on, when he would squat in the 

 sink and allow it to drop into his open bill; 

 if the water happeixed to be running too 

 swiftly for this, he would stand on the edge 

 of the sink and take little bites of the water 

 as it fell. 



Like all other crows, Grij^ early developed 

 a mischievous disposition. He was soon 

 master of the dog, cat and chickens and 

 drove them about whenever he pleased; he 

 liked particularily to tease the cat and 

 would tweak her tail at every opportunity. 

 On wash-days he amused himself by pulling 

 the clothes-pins from the line, or walking 

 on the clean clothes with muddy feet ; this 

 amusement soon got him into trouble, for 

 the neighbors began to complain, and he 

 was deprived of his liberty on such days. 

 ^When peas were to be shelled for dinner 

 Grip was always on hand to pick up and 

 hide any that might fall to the flo ir. His 

 choice of hiding-places for anything not 

 eatable, was in the writer's i:)ockets or down 



bis back. He loved to alight on anyone's 

 shoulder with a nail or other small article 

 which he would drop down their back and 

 then fly off before they were aware o£ his 

 intentions. If he found anyone reading 

 on the perch, he would, if allowed, take a 

 nap on their shoulder or amuse himself by 

 tugging at buttons or exploring pockets for 

 small articles which he would try to poke 

 into one's ears or up one's sleeve. 



When the pansies began to bloom. Grip 

 was often found busily picking the blos- 

 soms which he hid under the nearest 

 plantain leaf or in the cracks of the side- 

 walk; it did little good to drive him from 

 the beds, for as soon as the coast was clear 

 he would go back again.; but when satisfied 

 in his own mind that he had picked enough 

 he woiild leave the beds of bis own 

 accord. 



Grip was an object of terror to small boys 

 whom he^ would follow about pecking at 

 their legs until they were glad to run away; 

 for grown persons he generally showed 

 more respect, and restricted hostilities with 

 them, to marching along behind them; 

 sometimes he varied the monotony of this, 

 by sitting quitely among the maples along 

 the street until a person appeared, when 

 he would swoop down npou them with his 

 loudest mic, and then fly off greatly pleased 

 with the fright he had occasioned. 



Among the few words he could articulate 

 he evidently gave the preference to " hello," 

 saying it with many variations of th tone 

 to suit the occasion. He would sit on the 

 fence and tease the dog by a siaccession of 

 queer barks, ending the performance \\ith 

 "Hel-o-o?" 



As autumn approached, Grip absented 

 himself U>v longer and longer periods; 

 several times he was found in the company 

 of his wild relations. One d;iy late in t e 

 fall he disappeared again and was never 

 seen after. We have often wond^'red 

 whether be was shot or whc thether he went 

 off with the wild crows; but since he had 

 been seen with his wild friends, the Intter 

 supposition is probably the correct one. 

 WiiXABD N. Clute, Binghamton, N. Y. 



