Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1896-01-05
BIRD THAT PuzzL Es.
Voice That Appalls and strange Effect of Feathers.

 Voice That Appalls and strange Effect
 :. of Feathers.
 Among the rare and beautiful birds that recently arrived at the Philadel. phia Geological garden is ono that is puzzling the keepers very much. 1t IS q small bird, whose plumage looked like 8 town that had been artistically daubed by large crowd of sports. Ii has q peculiar beak, which, instead oi being firm and bony, is flexible, like the reed of the church organ. When the bird first came no one could exact ly classify 1t It is supposed to be the Carolatrix beatifcus or the ''ghost- voiced thrush one of the rarest of birds, found only in a few small inland towns in the heart of Africa. It ap- parently had no voice at all, and it had number of psculiarities that would seem to place 1t out of the pale of the thrush family.
 The pretty red creature had not been In it's new quarters long before 1t be, gan to show signs of uneasiness. II refused all food and apparently felt bad. One morning last week the keep CT was startled by seeing the bird featherless. He looked around the cage, but there were no sigas of the brilliant feathers that had been the pride and glory of the new bird. No. body could solve the mystery. The simple fact was that the bird was fes therless
 After guessing for some time the conclusion was reached that the bird had pulled it's feathers out one by one and had eaten them. Of course, there was no proof of this, but it 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 feather less, was once more clothed in bril- liant plumage.
 What kind of bird is that, any how?n said the keeper. He was des. tined to more surprises At about six o'clock in the morning of the day fol. lowing the double transformation he heard sounds coming from the bird house that sounded like some body talking in d foreign language First there were whispers, then q sudden shriek 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 person had entered the bird house. Finally he summoned up courage and opened the door. There was q dead silence While the keeper gazed about there came in ghastly whispers words that seemed to chill his very bones They were wild, weird, unintelligible. The subdued tone in which they were uttered added to their terror
 The keeper looked around, but saw no one The birds were as silent as the keeper himself and seemed to be awed by the voice. Every nook in the bird house was searched, but nothing came of the hunt, Finally the keeper spied the mysterious bird. The day before it had been brilliant red. Now t was blue, and it stood shivering on it's perch as though 1t were cold. The keeper wiped the perspiration off his brow and glanced at the thermometer. 1t was 90 degrees. Then he listened, and he heard hushed tones coming from the birds throat The longer he listened the more excited he became, and tho more ghostly was the voice of the thrush. Finally the bird emitted B series of shrieks and other vocal atrocities that chased the keeper out headlong. How many other changes the bird has gone through since then nobody knows, for nobody will go within reach of it's voice early in the morning. St Louis Globe Democrat.