190 BIRDS OF THE WATER 



every motion of his feeder is extraordinarily 

 gentle and deliberate, will on his worst 

 days open his wings as if to strike, and 

 even use his beak to pef:'k. This, we know, 

 of course is only his way, and not bad 

 temper or malevolence, and doubly excusable 

 after his two smaU accidents in early life. 

 **Kuku" is the strongest and handsomest of 

 the original trio. He is the first usually 

 to alight on the ground for fallen scraps, 

 a position disliked by the Pigeon tribe, 

 and where they show to little advantage, 

 with their awkward hops and waddling 

 gait. He is a famous trencherman, too, 

 and even when moulting, his appetite hardly 

 fell off. Of the thi-ee he is the wildest 

 bird, perhaps from natural disposition, 

 perhaps because he was a more mature 

 nestling when first transferred to my work 

 room. 



Some time about the beginning of April, 

 these three, "Kuku," "Pidgy," and ''Uncle 

 Harry," began to attract other wild bush 

 pigeons to the homestead, and somewhere 

 about that date my little girl was de- 



