176 HAEUSLER. Xotes on the Kkci 



1st Jan. 



It was curious to notice that although the old bird was so un- 

 sociable where one of its own species was concerned, it very soon 

 made friends with me. It became, indeed, so tame that it let me 

 stroke its head or neck and back, and lift it up and carry it 

 about in my arms without showinj^ the least sign of fear. 



The (|uestion of food-supply jiresented far less difficulty than 

 I had anticipated. Earth-worms were, of course, their favourite 

 food, but raw meat and also cooked meat, and all sorts of scraps 

 from the table formed a considerable part of their diet. 



Owing to their unwillingness to leave their dark hiding place 

 before dusk, it was at first very difficult to observe their food 

 habits. After a while the younger bird, although as a rule so 

 shy and wild, ventured out into the yard in broad daylight to 

 look for something to eat. At last, also, its companion made its 

 appearance, but always very reluctantly as long as the light was 

 bright, whenever I whistled or rattled the wire-netting as a signal 

 for feeding time. 



Their manner of feeding was very curious. The mcxst notice- 

 able feature was that they did not seem to make much use of 

 their eyes when in search of food. They did not, indeed, notice 

 the food when it was placed in the ground right in front of them, 

 and even allowed the earthworms to crawl away without making 

 any attempt to pick them up. Their sense of smell also seemed 

 to play a very unimportant part, although the far-forward i)osi- 

 tion of their nostrils and the manner in which the birds used 

 their bills seemed to indicate that they were to a consideral)le ex- 

 tent guided by it. It could, however, often be noticed that the 

 tips of their bills came almost within touching distance of some 

 good-sized morsel without the birds becoming aware of it. 



When hunting for their food both birds invariably began tap- 

 ping the ground in all directions with the tip of their bills, as a 

 blind man does with his walking stick to find his way. It seemed 

 (juite clear that in these operations the bill acted as a highly sen- 

 sitive organ of touch, for as s(Jon as the tij) came in contact with 

 somclhing edible, the birds would -invariably seize it. Consider- 

 ing the sensitiveness of their bills, it was certainly remarkable 

 that other parts of their bodies were almost insensible to any kind 

 of impressions. Earth-worms could often be seen crawlijig over 

 or under their toes without attracting attention. 



After a good deal of coaxing the old bird learned to take its 

 food from a plate held in my hand. Even in this case, when it 

 seemed impossible not to see what was offered, it did not pick 

 up anything excei)t what it found by tapping in the manner indi- 

 cated. In time it couhl be taught to feed from the outstretched 

 hand. Its first attempts were (|uite amusing. .\s usual it began 

 by tapping. When by so doing it touched the skin of the hand, 

 it immediately withdrew its head, uttering angry grunts of dis- 

 pleasure, and remained for some time {perfectly molionless in that 

 uncomfortable position. (Juite suddenly it became, as it were, 

 alive again. .-ukI with (|uite a "pleasant expression" resumed it? 



