wn into his
shoulders and his bill thrust up into the air at an angle of forty-five
degrees. If this tired him, he simply turned his bill down at about the
same angle, and tried it that way awhile.

He was an exceedingly early bird, always settled to sleep long before
any other in the room, and he slept very soundly, being not easily
wakened and breathing in long, steady respirations like a person in
sleep. Indeed he startled me very much the first time I noticed him. The
breathing was regular and strong, equal in duration to my own as I
listened, and I was sure some one was in the room. I hastened to light
the gas to look for the burglar, and it was not until I had made
thorough search that I discovered who was the guilty one. He dreamed
also, if one may judge by the sounds that came from his cage at night,
complaining, whining, almost barking like the "yaps" of a young puppy,
and many sorts of indescribable noises.

The Golden-wing was extremely fond of hanging against the side of his
cage on the support spoken of above. Not only did he sleep in that
position, but dress his plumage, turning his head back over his body and
sides, and even arranging the feathers of his breast, each one by
itself, with scrupulous care. Like many others this bird objected to
having his cage used as a perch by his neighbors. He expressed his
sentiments by quick jerks, first of the shoulders and then of the whole
body, and if the intruder did not take the hint, he opened his enormous
bill and took hold of a stray toe, which usually drove away the most
impertinent.

The door of the cage was opened to my captive as soon as he became quiet
and happy within it. After his first surprise and dismay at finding
himself in the big world again, he enjoyed it very much. Being unable to
fly through the loss of some wing feathers, his cage was placed on the
floor, and he ran in and out at pleasure. He was more than usually
intelligent about it, too; for although the door was small, and he had
to lower his head to pass through, he was never at a loss for an
instant.

One thing that shows a bird's characteristics and that I have never seen
any two do in exactly the same way, is to explore a room when first
released from a cage. This bird, like his predecessors, had his own
peculiar notion, which was to go behind everything. He squeezed himself
between a trunk, or a heavy piece of furniture, and the wall, where it
did not seem possible that one of his