Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-08-26
PUZZLES HIS KEEPER.
A Voice Tint AppnIls and n Strange
Effect of Feathers,

Effect of Feathers.
From the st. Louis Globe Dc ocrat
Among the rare and beautiful birds that
recently arrived at the Philacelphf zoo-
logical Garden is one that is puzzlire the
keepers very much 1t is a small bird.
whose plumage looked like a town that had
been artisticslly daubed by a large crowd
of sports. 1t has a peculiar beak, which.
instead of being firm and bony is flexible.
like the reed of a church organ. When the
bird first Came no one could exactly cIas-
sify 1t. 1t is supposed to be the CaroIatrix
beatiicus. or the "ghost-voiced thrush. :"
one of the rarest of BIRDS fourd only in a
few small inland towns in the heart of
Africa. 1t apparently had no voice at all,
and 1t had number of peculiarities that
would seem to place it out OF the pale of the
thrush family
The pretty red creature had not been in
its rev quarters long before it began to
show signs of uneasiness. 1t refused all
food, and apparently felt bad. One morn
ing last week the keeper was startled bv
seeing the bird featheress He looked
around the cage, but there were no signs
of the brilliant feathers that had been the
pride and glory of the new bird Nobody
could solve the mystery. The simple fact
vas that the bird was fea therless
After guessing for some time. the cor cI,-
sion was reached that the bird had pulled
al
them. OF course there was no proof of
this, but 1t seemed plausible. The next day
when the keeper again looked at the bird
he started back as though shot. The bird
which the day before had been featherless.
was once more clothed in brilliant plumage
What kind of a bird is that, anyway?''
said the keeper He was destined to more
surprises. At about o'clock in the morn
ing of the day following the double trans,
formation he heard sounds coming from the
bird house that sounded like somebody talk
ing in foreign language. First there were
whispers, then a sudden Shrek that was
enough to curdle the blood of strong and
brave men. This was followed by rapid and
Vociferous shouts in an utterly unknown
tongue. The keeper was rather afraid to
open the door, fearing some Undesirable per-
son had entered the bird house. Finally
he summoned up courage and opened the
door. There was dead silence While
the keeper gaZed about there came In
ghostly whispers words that see1nd to chill
bis very bones. They were wild, weird, I'M
Ineligible. The subdued tone in which they
were uttered ad led to their terror
The keeper looked around, but saw no
one The birds were as silent as the keen
er himself. and seemed to be awed by the
voice. Every nook in the bird house was
seached. but nothing came of the hunt
Finally the keeper spied the mysterious
bird. The day before it had been a bril-
liant red. Now it was blue. and it stood
shivering on its perch as though it were
cold The keeper wiped the perspiration off
his brow and glanced at the thermometer
1t was 80 degrees. Then he listened. and
he heard hushed tones coming from the
birds throat. The longer he listened the
more excited he became, and the more
ghostly was the voice of the thrush. Final
iy the bird emitted series of shrieks and
other vocal atrocities that chased the keen
er out headlong. How many other chang 3
the bird has gone through since then
body knows, for nobody will go within
reach Of its voice early In the morning.