A Tame Olive-Backed Thrush 453 



and meet over the house. The wind lashed the branches of 

 the trees. The young Thrush, perched in an open window, 

 sang his Thrush song over and over during the storm. 



The day after the thunderstorm I entertained a caller for 

 nearly two hours. The Thrush became so excited that he 

 sang all the time that my friend was present. From that 

 time on he sang very little. 



One morning I left a basket of fragrant, old-fashioned 

 roses on the couch. They were across the room from where 

 the Thrush cuddled half asleep. He flew to the bed, hopped 

 all around the roses and pecked softly at leaves, buds and 

 petals. He acted as if he were caressing the petals with his 

 beak. 



When the Thrush was eight days old, he ate so much that 

 the united efforts of the children and myself were not suf- 

 ficient to keep him in fresh insect food. I began feeding him 

 some steak. He was very fond of it, as well as bread and 

 milk. After eating, he usually gave several comfortable lit- 

 tle grunts. Always when he had sufficient food, he ran rap- 

 idly away. 



After studying- the Thrush twelve days in the house, the 

 thirteenth morning I placed him in a bit of evergreen woods 

 above a swale with a brook running through it. Here I cared 

 for him while he learned the ways of the wood folk. 



I purposely did not give the Thrush much food as I knew 

 that his salvation depended on his own exertions. I fed him 

 once in about three hours. 



In the afternoon I was at the spring with some friends. 

 The Thrush heard our voices and in a moment drifted like a 

 bit of thistle down to the shoulder of one of the young ladies. 



We fed him and he caught mosquitoes and grasshopers 

 for our delectation. When he caught a grasshopper he tore 

 the legs and wings off before eating it. 



It is surprising to see what the woods will do for a young 

 bird. The Thrush learned in one day to use his beak with 

 great rapidity and precision. He flew into the air a foot for 

 mosquitoes and sometimes a yard or more for other insects. 

 He ate so rapidly that I ceased feeding him with the scissors. 



