192 
THE CONDOR 
Vol. XVIII 
so demoralized and abbreviated that he was naturally nicknamed “Bobby”. 
Feeding time was the opportune occasion for displaying the foolishness of his 
temper. As long as he was sole guest at the festal dish, and was shoveling 
into his stomach mouthfuls of food with a voracity suggestive that one min- 
ute was the limit of his life tenure, all was well ; but the instant his companion, 
the Western Meadowlark, attempted to partake of the boiled bread and milk 
and scraped beef, Bobby was instantly transformed into a veritable fury, and 
would fly upon the lark, peck, scratch and kick it, using his legs just the 
same as a rooster, until the poor, timid creature would creep away into the 
farthest corner of the cage and wait until Bobby had stuffed himself into a 
condition of stupid indiffer- 
ence. Bobby was one of the 
most forceful of all of my 
“golden texts”: I call the 
recovered feathered patients, 
which I display to the chil- 
dren, giving the life history 
of each bird, “golden 
texts”. Bobby’s horrid ta- 
ble manners and exhibition 
of temper furnished endless 
suggestions for my sermon- 
ettes. He finally died from 
the effect of a prolonged 
bath which lie insisted on 
taking one cold evening in 
early May. 
From a scientific point 
of view an American Bittern 
which 1 had under treatment 
for several months yielded 
the greatest satisfaction and 
interest. While passing 
across the State to his breed- 
ing grounds, he was at- 
tracted by the inviting scen- 
ery and restful appearance 
of the land lying at the foot 
of Pikes Peak, and conclud- 
ed to stop over for a few 
days recreation. Scarcely 
had he commenced to investigate the chances for a dinner along the shore? of 
one of our numerous reservoirs, before “a boy and gun” appeared upon the 
Fig. 51. A Crippled American Bittern; stump 
UPPER MANDIBLE HEALING AFTER SHOT WOUND 
scene, and the next instant the poor creature was tumbling about with a dis- 
abled wing, while the upper mandible was shot in two about midway, held 
from separation merely by the soft tissues. As a matter of experiment the 
fractured mandible was adjusted and properly held in place by splints, but 
within a week’s time nature had amputated the dead point. Then curiosity 
to discover what effort nature would make to repair the broken member in- 
duced me to continue to care for the bird (see fig. 51). 
