Carolina watchman. [volume] (Salisbury, N.C.) 1871-1937, 1909-07-27
WHAT BIRDS WILL 90.
Some of the Characteristics Of the Feath'
cred Tribe.

l have captured young hooking
birds from their nests and reared
them to nearly grown, and then
the old birds would bring them
grasshoppers in order to poison
The bird will not eat
grasshoppers when running free.
They seem to know the insect Is
poison. | have seen mocking
birds sit and listen to the piano
when it val being played sweet
and low. l have seen them fight
a snake while the latter was try.
ing to rob their nest. They would
utter shrlll cries aud fly about the
STAKE, pecking it mercilessly with
their beaks. | have seen them
listening to a canary singing, and
then of a. sudden, as though in
d'gust of the small sweet singer,
sing the canary's song 80 loud,
yet ~sweetly, that the canary was
scarcely audible. The party that
owned these two birds said that
the m%ocking bird finally killed
the canary, for the latter would
try to sing as loudly as the form
er. but in vain. 1t strained It's
little throat trying to compete
with its stronger rival until its
strength wac exhausted, and it
died in despair.
| have seen the GROW fight an
eagle when the latter came cal
the crows nest. It would fly
above and fall quickly on and
peck the eagle. The crow can
soar quickly, going straight up,
while the eagle climbs in circles
| have also seen the crow Oh the
beach find a clam, but owing to
the hard she'll of the latter it was
unable to eat it. But that did
not daunt the wise old crow, for
it picked up the clam in its claws
and flew high in the air, then it
dropped the clam on the hard
sand beach. The clam was bro
ken by the fall and the crow pro-
ceeded with its dinner.
| have seen a parrot that was
owned rear a college got quite an
CRY on being called a freshman
and use terrible profane language,
but # he vas called a senior he
would cry out in a pleased voice,
"That's me-"
| have seen a fish hawk dive in
70 the water and catch fish. 1t
will steady itself in the air far
above the water and watch for a
fish. When it sees one it will
close it's wings and fall quickly Oh
its prey, seize the fish in Its claws
and fly away to it's nest to eat it
or feed it to it's Young.
| have seen an eagle fight the
fish hawk to make it drop a fish it
had just captured. When the
hawk drops the fish. tho eagle,
quick as a flash, catches it. l
have seen this several times and |
have eve seen an eagle fail to
catch the fish before it struck the
water.
| saw an eagle catch an old cat
one day. The cat had just time
to fall on its back before the eagle
caught it, The eagle took the cat
up in the air a short distance and
turned it loose, and l guess it
thought it was good riddance, for
the cat was biting aud scratching
terribly. There was a string of
feathers from where the eagle
picked the cat up to the place it
turned it loose.
I have seen a kind of duck, 10.
cally known as the Water Witch,
dive before shot could travel from
a gun to it, and the distance was
only a few feet. [ have also seen
it dodge the rihs bullet. This
bird is a rapid diver, and to watch
it perform this wonderful feat is
interesting.
! have seen tame wild geese sit
on the edge of a stream and call
- Id geese to them to be shot by
their owner. They seemed to on.
Joy the sport as much as a man.
l have seen a dove play crippled
when coming neal her nest. She
does this to get you to try to cap.
ture her; in this way she leads
you away from her nest.-C. Il.
Langley, in Oriental News.
This last practice is not con-
fined to doves. Partridges. whip