When introduced to his new quarters in my house, the clarin did not
flutter; he did not resist. He rested on the bottom of the cage where he
was placed, and looked at me with eyes that said, "What are _you_ going
to do with me?" He had already accepted his imprisonment; he did not
expect to be free, and it was plain that he no longer cared for his
life. If he were to be subjected to the indignity of traveling in a box
among common birds, as he had been sent from the bird-store where I
found him, he had no desire to live. It required much coaxing to make
him forget the outrage, and I am glad to say it was the last affront he
suffered. From that day he was treated as lie deserved, being always at
liberty in the room, and enjoying the distinguished consideration of a
houseful of people and birds. Before he came to understand that his life
had changed, however, I feared he would die. He did not mope, he simply
cared for nothing. For more than twenty-four hours he crouched on the
floor of his cage, utterly indifferent even to a comfortable position;
food he would not look at. I talked to him; I screened him from noisy
neighbors; I made his cage attractive; I spared no effort to win
him,--and at last I succeeded. He took up again the burden of life,
hopped upon a perch, and began to dress his feathers. Soon he was
induced to eat, and then he began to notice the bird voices about him.
Like other of the more intelligent birds, once won, he was entirely won.
He was never in the least wild with me after that experience; never
hesitated to put himself completely in my power, or to avail himself of
my help if he needed it in any way. Says another bird-lover, "Let but a
bird--that being so free and uncontrolled--be willing to draw near and
conclude a friendship with you, and lo, how your heart is moved!"
[Sidenote: _A MYSTICAL CALL._]
It is hard to tell in what way this bird impressed every one with a
sense of his imperial character, but it is true that he did. He never
associated with the other birds, and he selected for his perches those
in the darker part of the room, where his fellows did not go. Favorite
resting-places were the edge of a hanging map, the top of a gas fixture,
and a perch so near my seat that most birds were shy of it. Though
extravagantly fond of water, requiring his bath daily, he greatly
disliked to bathe in the dishes common to all. Like a royal personage,
he preferred his bath in his own quarters.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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