Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1893-03-04
WEEKIlN
CRUEL LITTLE BUTCHER BIRD.
1t Loves to Kill Small Animals and I'm
pale Thrm on ThOrns.

pale 1hfm ON IhOrnas
The butcher bird is considered by
some of the ornithologists as the most
sagacious bird in America, Thomas
Oldham. of Lord~bnrg, says the Pom
Qua Progress, tells us that he believe
it as cruel as it is sagarious.
II have paid lots of attention to O.
pair of common butcher birds at my
place for six months, said he, and /
have learned many new things about
the habits of the peculiar butcher bird
A pair of them have followed me while
a-ploughin5 for three or four DAYS at o
time, watching for me to overture "a
nest of field mice. When | oy rtura a
nest they will pounce down upon the
little mice and claw aud peck them 90
death. Then the mouse carcn ,ses are
carried away to some neighbonng
orange or lemon tree and spickeI
upon the thorns.
The birds dom eat the mice, but
kill them from sh, cr love Of the eN-
element. Wuen they can spike a live
mouse, or even rat, on q thorn they
tlutter about AM chatter with them
selves as if they had great fun in see
ing the rodents twist and squirm in the
throes of death. But [ am most sur
prised to see how strong butcher birds
are and what they can lift and fly
away with. | have often seen toals
that have been inpAled upon thorns OF
a century plant on my place and left to
die. The other morning ] saw a
butcher bird with q snake fully a foot
long. he had it by the back of the
neck, and flew with 1t up into an oran c
tree. He there nailed the reptile on
thorn and sat and watched it. lie
let the snake almost wriggle off, when
he flew at it and fixed it on more firmly
Because these birds are destructive TO
gophers and rats they are considered
the friends of the orange growers.
The Monkeys Caught On.
Il once went up the Amazon and
Orinoco Rivers on an animal capturing
expedition for the late p t. Buruum,
said Dick Cowper, an old Snowman,
Il got quito collection Of snakes,
birds and monkeys. hit on q novel
plan for the capture Oft the latter, and
it worked like charm \ monkey Is
q greater imltator than Chiuamau.
He will do anything he sees done, and
that is what gets so many Of his kind
into the cage. I rugged up an electric
battery. and attached it to an apparatus
that would allow score of the Simiaus
to get hold of it. [ then took q parry
Of natives, and went into the forests
where there we're troops of monkey.
We put the apparatus down, attached
the wire and removed the battery to a.
considerable distance. The natives
then took hold OF the apparatus, dan
ced and yelled, then relired Tho
monkeys made a dash Tor it. Half q
dozen caught hold of it, and | turned
on the current. They began to shdeg
and squirm, but the others thou4l,
their performance q part OF the pro
gramme, and fairly fell over each othss
to get hold of the machine / could
have stuck the whole troop if the
could have got hold of the concern
We then made decent on them with
sacks, and soon had score of thea
cor.alled. But it would only woro
once. We tried it O month alterWarJ
at point fifty miles distant, but moi
b monkey came off his perch IN the
trees. They viewed tue proceeding
with evident curiosity, but without
any apparent desire to initiate our war
dance around the machine.