THE OSPREY. 



151 



soprase greens, pearly greys, all blent together 

 as if b_Y enchantment, but changing as 3'ou 

 looked and melting into that deep, indescri- 

 bable, tropic purple, which forms the glorious 

 background of the 'meaner beauties of the 

 night.' 



In this same garden there chanced to be a 

 couple of low swinging seats just opposite a 

 large tree, which I soon observed was the 

 favourite roosting place of countless numbers 

 of birds. Indeed, all the fowls of the air seemed 

 to assemble in its branches, and I was filled 

 with curiosity to know why the other trees were 

 deserted. At roosting time the chattering and 

 chirruping were deafening, and quarrels raged 

 fiercely all along the branches. I noticed that 

 the center of the tree was left empty, and that 

 the birds edged and sidled out as far as ever 

 they could get on to its slenderest branches. 

 All the squabbles arose from the ardent desire 

 with which each bird was apparently filled to be 

 the very last on the branch and so the nearest to 

 its extreme tip. It can easily be understood 

 that such thin twigs could not stand the weig^ht 

 of these crowding little creatures, and would 

 therefore bend until thej' could no longer cling- 

 to it, and so had to fiy off and return to search 

 for another foothold. I had watched this un- 

 usual mode of roosting for several evenings, 

 without g^etting any nearer to the truth than a 

 guess that the strug-gle was perhaps to secure a 

 cool and airy bed-place. 



One hot evening, however, we ling-ered longer 

 in what the negro gardener called the 'swing- 

 gers,' tempted by the cool darkness, and putting 

 off as long as possible the time of lights and 

 added heat, and swarming^ winged ants, and 

 moths, and mosquitoes. AVe had begun to think 

 how delightful it would be to have no dinner at 

 all, but just to stay there, gently swaying to 

 and fro all night, when we saw a shadow — for 

 at first it seemed nothing more — dart from 

 among the shadows around us, and more swiftly 

 up the trunk of the tree. At first I thought it 

 must be a huge rat, but my dear companion 

 whispered, 'Look at the Mongoose!' So we sat 

 still, watching it with closest attention. Soon 

 it was lost in the dense central foliage, and we 

 wondered at the profound stillness of that 

 swarming mass of birds, who had not long 

 settled into quiet. Our poor human, inadequate 

 eyea had, however, become so accustomed to the 

 gloom by its gradual growth, that we could 

 plainly observe a ilattened-out object stealthily 

 creeping along an out-lyings bough. It was 

 quite a breathless moment, for no shadow could 

 have moved more noiselessly than that crawling 

 creature. Even as we watched, the bough softly 

 and gradually bent beneath the added weight, 

 but still the Mongoose stole onwards. No little 

 sleeping ball of feathers was quite within reach, 

 so yet another step must needs be taken along 

 the slender branch. To my joy that step was 

 fatal to the hopes of the brigand beast, for the 

 bough dipped suddenly, and the Mongoose had 

 to clingr to it for dear life, whilst every bird flew 

 off with sharp cries of alarm which effectually 

 roused the whole population of the aerial city, 

 and the air was quite darkened round the tree 

 by fluttering, half-awakened birds. 



It was plain now to see the reason of the pro- 

 ceedings which had so puzzled me, and once 

 more I felt inclined to — as the Psalmist phrases 

 it — 'lay my hand on my mouth and be still,' in 

 wonder and admiration of the adaptable in- 

 stincts of birds. How long had it taken these 

 little helpless creatures to discover that their 

 only safety lay in just such tactics, and what 

 sense guided them in choosing exactly the otie 

 tree which possessed slender and 3'ielding 

 branch-tips which were yet strong enough to 

 support their weight? They were just settling 

 down again when horrid clamorous bells in- 

 sisted on our going back into the hot, lighted-up 

 house, and facing the additional miseries of 

 dressing and dinner. Though we carefully 

 watched that same tree and its roosting crowds 

 for many weeks, we never again saw the 

 Mongoose attempt to get his supper there, 

 so I suppose he must also be credited with 

 sufficient cleverness to know when he was 

 beaten. 



A Toucan does not often figure in a list of 

 tame birds, and I cannot conscientiously recom- 

 mend it as a pet. Mine came from Venezuela 

 and was given to me soon after our arrival in 

 Trinidad. It must have been caught very 

 young, for it was very tame, and if you did not 

 object to its sharp claws, would sit contentedly 

 on your hand. The body was about as big as 

 t'lat of a crow, but may be described as a short, 

 .stout bird, with a beak as large as its body. 

 Into this proboscis was crowded all the colours 

 of the rainbow, blended in a prismatic scale. 

 Its plumage would be dingy if it were not so 

 glossy, and was of a blue-black hue with white 

 feathers in the wings and just a little orange 

 under the throat to shade off the bill, as it were. 

 Some Toucans have large fleshy excrescences at 

 the root of the bill, but this one and those I saw 

 In Trinidad had not. 



The Toucan was, however, an amiable and, at 

 first, a silent bird. He lived in a very large 

 cage, chiefly on fruit, and tubbed constantly 

 But the curious and amusing thing was to see 

 him preparing to roost, and he began quite 

 early, whilst other birds were still wide awake. 

 The" first thing was to carefullv cock up— for it 

 was a slow and cautious proceeding— his absurd 

 little scut of a tail which was only about three 

 or four inches long. This must in some way 

 have affected his balance, for he never moved 

 on the perch after the tail had been laid care- 

 fully back. Then, later in the evening, he 

 gently turned th^ huge unwieldly bill round by 

 degrees, until it too was laid along his back and 

 buried in feathers in the usual bird fashion. 

 By the way, I have always wondered how and 

 why the myth arose that birds sleep with their 

 heads laide'r their wings? A moment's thought 

 or observation would show that it is quite as im- 

 possible a feat for a bird as for a human being. 

 However, the Toucan's sleeping arrangements 

 resulted in producing an oval mass of feathers 

 supported on (me leg, looking as unlike a bird 

 as it is possible to imagine. When he was ruth- 

 lessly awakened bv a sudden poke or noise, 

 which I grieve to state was often done— m my 

 absence, needless to say— I heard that he inva- 

 riably tumbled down in a sprawling heap, being 



