h he enjoyed. He never bolted it
outright like a thrush, nor beat it to death like a tanager, nor held it
under one toe and took it in mouthfuls like an oriole: he quietly worked
it back and forth between his mandibles till reduced to a pulp, and then
swallowed it.

The rosy shield-bearer was preeminently a creature of habit. Very early
in his life with us he selected certain resting places for his private
use, and all the months of his stay he never changed them. The one
preferred above all others was the middle bar of the window-sash, in the
corner, and I noticed that his choice was always a corner. In this sunny
spot he spent most of the time, closely pressed against the
window-casing, generally looking out at the trees and the sparrow-life
upon them, and regarding every passer-by in the street, not in an
unhappy way, but apparently considering the whole a panorama for his
entertainment. When events in the room interested him, his post of
observation was a bracket that held a small cage, where he often sat an
hour at a time in perfect silence, looking at everybody, concerned about
everything, his rosy shield and white breast effectively set off by the
dark paper behind him.

Although thus immobile and silent, the grosbeak was far from being
stupid. He had decided opinions and tastes as well defined as anybody's.
For example, when he came to me his cage stood on a shelf next to that
occupied by two orchard orioles, and he was never pleased with the
position. He was hardly restless even there, while suffering what he
plainly considered a grievance, but he was uneasy. I saw that something
was wrong, and guessed at once that it was because his upper perch was
three inches lower than that in the next cage, and to have a neighbor
higher than himself is always an offense to a bird. As soon as I raised
his cage he was satisfied on that score, and no more disturbed me in the
early morning by shuffling about on his perch and trying to fly upward.

But still things were not quite to his mind, and he showed it by
constantly going into the cage of the orioles and settling himself
evidently with the desire of taking up his residence there. He was so
gentle and unobtrusive everywhere, that no one resented his presence in
the cage, and he could have lived in peace with almost any bird. But I
wanted him contented at home, and moreover, I was curious to find out
what was amiss, so I tried the experiment of removing his cage from its