2 l l



on the Osprey.



it from one’s fingers, evidently realizing the advantage of his

elder brothers being too shy to fight him. After nearly a fort¬

night’s travelling and camping out they all arrived safely at

headquarters, and were established in a fair-sized aviary : and

soon after they had partially recovered from the first shock, fed

eagerly on the fish with which they were provided. Joey and

No. 2 were now practically full grown, but the younger one did

not grow much, and died shortly after the hand-feeding ceased,

possibly because of his brothers’ persecution, but the cause was

not clear.


The other two lived on in peace for some weeks, till one

day, for no assignable reason, No. 2 ended his short career, and

Joe)'' was left in full possession of a fairly large aviary. There he

would sit almost motionless all day, unless anyone approached,

when he would lower his head in the vulturine position noted

above, and call out with the plaintive cry of his species.


He had an excellent appetite, and used to clear up from

four to six pounds of fish daily, and for the first two months of

his life was fed twice a day. He would not take food out of one’s

hand, but as soon as it was placed in the aviary he would pounce

upon it, carry it to the ground, and bustle away into a corner

with drooping wings and outspread tail. When about five

months old, he started for England in a large case of which more

than half one side was a door; for the first three days he refused

food, but eventually he gave in and ate his daily rations with

avidity. I used to visit Joey daily during the voyage, take him

from his case, and hold him up to the wind on my arm, that he

might be able to spread and exercise his wings, and prevent

them becoming cramped; on the sixteenth day he landed safely

in England, and was installed at my aviaries.


Here, for several months he did well, and completed a

partial moult of his small feathers, but remained always of a

very sluggish disposition, sitting solemnly all day on a perch or

the ground, and but seldom offering to move. He never took a

bath, or indeed any notice of the water in his compartment, but

simply sat and ate, occasionally, when approached, ruffling up

his feathers and calling out. Winter came, and with it the cold



