10 



THE OOLOGIST 



it's bill to steady itself in stepping 

 from one to another. 



Sometimes it seemed as if its long- 

 ing for it's mountain freedom were 

 greater than it could bear. It wanted 

 so very, very much to fly away to 

 where the distant mountains, bathed 

 in their purple haze, looked so dream- 

 like, and cool and inviting, and it 

 would crouch low on it's perch with 

 wings out stretched, all ready for the 

 starting jump, but its leap would end 

 in an inglorious fall and it would re- 

 turn to it's perch with a crestfallen 

 air that was truly pathetic. 



It's eating was a surprise to me. It 

 had been in captivity for a month be- 

 fore coming to me, and was said to 

 have eaten everything in sight, and I 

 fully expected to be kept busy in sup- 

 plying it's insatiable demands, but dur- 

 ing the first week it hardly ate at all 

 and at no time did it seem to have 

 much of a desire for food. It was 

 afflicted, though, with an inordinate 

 thirst and drank continually, immers- 

 ing it's head to the eyes and some- 

 times to the ears, and when the flies 

 got too troublesome it would make for 

 the water pail and put it's head under 

 completely for a minute with much 

 apparent relief. 



One day I noticed my horses gazing 

 very intently, apparently at something 

 on the hill back of my house, and on 

 going to see, discovered my bird about 

 200 yards up the hill making for the 

 brush as fast as his legs would carry 

 him, and with wings outspread though 

 they were not of much assistance in 

 going up hill. 



He did not know where* he was go- 

 ing but he was most certainly on his 

 way and in a few minutes more would 

 have been lost to me in the brush. 

 When overtaken he showed fight, 

 jumping at me fiercely with both feet 

 and striking solidly against my chest. 

 Had his claws been less like a turkey's 



and more like those of most members 

 of his order it would have been more 

 fun for him than for me. He led me 

 a merry chase down the hill before 

 he was cornered again. Here his 

 wings were of benefit, but the in- 

 jured wing had lost it's power and 

 when the initial impetus of his jump 

 was exhausted he would come to the 

 ground some fifteen feet away. He put 

 up a stiff fight when cornered again 

 and was not finally secured until he 

 was smothered in a grain sack before 

 he could get to his feet after one of 

 his attacks and even then managed to 

 draw blood from a finger that had the 

 misfortune to stray into his mouth for 

 a very short moment. 



With a small boy holding each wing 

 and myself looking after feet and head 

 we finally got him home. 



This time the pen was made hole- 

 proof, though it need not have been 

 for he never tried to get out again. 



Indeed it seemed as if that were his 

 last despairing effort and his spirit 

 were broken, for he refused to eat and 

 sat on his perch all day with head 

 drawn in or buried in the interscapu- 

 lars, only getting down to drink, and 

 finally I found him on the ground one 

 morning, cold and stiff, his soul de- 

 parted, let us hope, to that happy 

 hunting ground where the souls of all 

 good birds go. 



This bird was a young bird, not yet 

 having lost the black, juvenile feath- 

 ers of the head and neck. 



The bare, orange head and neck of 

 the adult birds are not seen until the 

 second season. Although it's length 

 of 44% inches was not so far short of 

 the adult average, it's wing spread 

 was only 93 while a full grown bird 

 would average about 15. It is possible 

 that several months confinement may 

 have arrested development. The in- 

 jury to the wing undoubtedly affected 

 that wing at least. The bullet that 



