510 TAME MOORUKS. 



unpacked, squatting down on each side, most intently watehing the process, and occasionally 

 pecking at the straw and contents. 



"When the carpenter was in the yard, making some alteration in the cage of these birds, 

 it was very amusing to see them squat down upon their tarsi, like dogs, watching the man, 

 with the greatest apparent interest in all his actions, enjoying the hammering noise, and occa- 

 sionally picking up a nail, which was not in this instance swallowed, but again dropped ; one 

 one of them swallowed his 'oilstone,' which so alarmed the man that he considered the bird 

 had committed suicide, and hurried to inform me of the circumstance, when, to his surprise, I 

 told him if he did not take care they would swallow his hammer, nails, and chisel. The birds 

 kept close to the man until he left for dinner, when they went about the yard as usual, resum- 

 ing their position near him as soon as he returned to his work, and not leaving until he had 

 finished. 



" These birds invariably retire to roost at dusk, and nothing more is seen or heard of them 

 until daylight, as they never leave their usual roosting-place after retiring ; indeed, their usual 

 time of roosting is as soon as the sun is on the verge of setting, even before the poultry depart ; 

 and on looking at them about this time in their retirement, they utter their usual greeting 

 chirps, and one may be observed reposing upon the breast, the other upon the tarsi. The 

 door may be safely left open during the night, as they will not move, nor leave their sleeping- 

 place, until the dawn of day. If, during any hour of the night, I approached their resting- 

 place, they immediately greeted me with their peculiar chirping noise, being evidently, like 

 geese, very watchful, or, according to the common saying, ' sleeping Avith one eye open ; ' 

 when gazed at, they not only chirped, but, if I continued too long, I was saluted by a loud 

 growl. 



." One morning the male Mooruk was missing, and was found in the bedroom upstairs, 

 drinking water out of the water-jug. There were some silkworms in the room at the time, but 

 they were fortunately covered ; otherwise, I have no doubt, he would have made a meal of 

 them. The same bird swallowed a bung-cork which measured one and a half inch in diameter ; 

 indeed they both seem to swallow anything from butter and eggs to iron, in the form of small 

 bolts or nails and stones. The bird did not appear well ; he was sulky and heavy all day ; and 

 when, in this sickly state, any one approached him, instead of being greeted with a cheerful 

 chirping, he uttered a loud sulky growl ; we were afraid he was dying. On the following day 

 he was as lively as ever, having passed the cork in a perfectly undigested state. 



"To show how dangerous it was to leave any object capable of being swallowed, I will 

 relate the following occurrence : The servant was starching some muslin cuffs, and having com- 

 pleted one and hung it up to dry, she was about to finish the other, when, hearing the bell 

 ring, she squeezed up the cuff, threw it into the starch, and attended to the summons. On her 

 return the cuff was gone, and she could not imagine who had taken it during her brief absence, 

 when she discovered that the Mooruk was the thief, its beak and head being covered with 

 starch ; he had without doubt swallowed it. This occurred at eleven A. M., and at half -past 

 five P. M. the cuff was passed, quite undigested and uninjured, and with a little washing was 

 as good as ever. 



' ' They could not digest unboiled potato. Maize, or any unboiled grain, was likewise 

 indigestible. When a piece of bread was offered them at a height beyond their reach, they 

 would first stretch up the body and neck as much as possible, and then, finding they could not 

 get it, they would jump up for it like a dog. They were frequently seen running and tumbling 

 about the yard together in high spirits. It is well to warn persons, inclined to keep these 

 birds as pets, of their insatiable propensities. When about the house, they displayed extraordi- 

 nary delight in a variety of diet ; for, as I have previously related, one day they satisfied their 

 appetites with bones, whetstones, corks, nails, and raw potatoes, most of which passed per- 

 fectly undigested ; one dived into thick starch and devoured a muslin cuff, whilst the other 

 evinced a great partiality for nails and pebbles ; then they stole the jabiru's meat from the 

 water. If eggs and butter were left upon the kitchen-table, they were soon devoured by these 

 marauders ; and when the servants were at their dinner in the kitchen, they had to be very 

 watchful, for the long necks of the birds appeared between their arms, devouring everything 



