The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1877-10-04
Hits about Birds.

A white blackblrd was lately shot In
Naps, California, by George Juarez,
and is now In the possession Of DR.
Pond, who will have 1t mounted for his
cabinet. Ii bears all the marks Of the
family of blackblrds known to ornitho.
logists as merula musicd, except that its
plumage is white.
A pigeon perched on the minute hand
of the clsck In the tower Of Trinity
church, Pittsburgh, Mt a quarter of
eleven In the forenoon, and held its post
until its body was securely fastened
between the two hands. When 1t at
tempted to fly 1t could not stretch its
wings, and in a few seconds was
squeezed TO death. The ponderous
machinery was stopped by the sexton,
but the dead bird could not be taken out
until the hands were unscrewed.
In New London, Conn.,, a few weeks
ago an orioles nest became detached by
the wind from tall elm, and fell to the
ground. The nest, when found, con-
tanned four young fiedglings. Another
OF the brood fluttered from the nest just
as it fell, and remained in the tree. The
four young birds were Gagged and placed
over the portico. Here they were daily
fed by the parent birds, who manifested
for them the liveliest solicitude, alter
nately flying from the cage to the
isolated member of the brood in the
tree with food. But the tenants of the
cage, being nearer the ground, seemed
to share the larger part of the parental
attention. On the approach of cats,
dogs or human beings, notes of warn
ing and distress were constantly uttered
by the older birds, and they would fire.
quently futter above the head of the
pedestrian as if to divert his attention
from the brood. But at best it was an
unhappy and divided family. A few
days ago the little ones seemed to be i'll,
and 1t was presently discovered that
they were being fed by something of a
poisonous nature. They seemed un-
able to move or open their eyes, and
their death took place in a few hours.
The remaining young bird next died,
and fell from the tree. The old birds
were now observed to grow listless and
silent, and so remained, perched on the
roof near the cageand appeared to be in
the deepest detection. Buta as it appears,
they had also partaken Of the poison,
and in a few hours fell to the ground in
a dying state. The substance by which
these birds were poisoned appeared tos
be a viscid, black, gelatinous materially
such as is sometimes observed on the
surface of stagnant pools. 1t was clearly
a case of infanticide ard suicide. 1t is
learned that this is not an isolated in
stance, and that other birds, especially
the robin, have been supposed, by
casual observers, to poison their young
when they were captured or crippled
by accident.
California papers say that l.. Page
and SOL cutting wood near San Jose,
noticed for several days that a number
of birds remained constantly upon a tree
near them, some going and coming
from time to time. Upon cutting down
the tree, they discovered a limb with a
hollow cavity, some two feet In length
and three or four inches In diameter,
in which were two full grown birds of
some gOOdly sized species. There was
a small aperture through which the
birds were supplied with food by their
mates. The limb was cut and the birds
liberated. They were neither of them
able to fly, having evidently never beer
out of their imprisonment. How they
came inside is a question. 1t is probable
that the mother was small, and though
able to make her nest in the hollow of
the tree and rear her young, could not
extricate them, and they did not gain
strength enough to help themselves
until the hollsw had so closed hat es-
cape was impossible. Those who ex-
amined the birds think they are about
two years old. They have been fed
from their birth by their bird-fellows
through the aperture In the limb of the
tree. A nobler instance of devotion
even the human family never exhibited.
Dover Is seventy miles from London
''as the crow flies" and seventy-six and
a half miles by railroad; and a few days
ago there was an exciting race between
the two cities. The French police
wished to forward to London a very
important document as quickly as posi-
BILE; and the question was whether a
carrier pigeon or the continental mail
express" could take it the sooner. 1t
was determined to try both meal of
conveyance. The railroad company
selected its strongest and fastest engine;
and the French police hired the services
of a "Belgian voyageur," which is of
the best breed of homing pigeons. AT
the moment that train started, the little
messenger, with the document fastened
to him, was tossed out of q window of a
ar. Flying about half a mile high,
for a minute or two he circled about as
If In search of bearings, and then took
a straight course for London. His APP
parent hesitation led the railroad officers
to feel confident in their own success.
They made their iron horse stretch
every nerve, and they scored a mile for
every minute. But In the hazy, sunny
atmosphere, and borne along by the
west wind, the bird beat the train by
twenty minutes-a time allowance
representing eighteen miles. He ac-
complished in fifty-six minutes what the