WOOD AND WASTE 193 



round to do so, and moreover taking care 

 to shove the bits of bread well down his 

 throat. On June 5th, sitting on a low 

 branch, he took bread readily, but though 

 eating a hearty meal, could not be quite 

 coaxed to leave his branch and accept the 

 proffered wrist. On the 6th he took from 

 me a big feed of the suety crust of an 

 apple dumpling. Though, however, he 

 would not venture on to my wrist, he was 

 otherwise perfectly serene, and apparently 

 regarded apple dumpling crust as not at 

 all an extraordinary diet for a sensible 

 bird. Between the 5th and the 13th, whilst 

 being fed, he was repeatedly within an 

 ace of trusting himself on wrist or arm, 

 and several times, too, when about to alight, 

 hovered as if intending to perch on the 

 head of the bread carrier. Until the 13th 

 his heart failed him, but upon that date 

 he flew without hesitation or vacillation 

 straight to the head of one of our guests, 

 and allowed himself to be quietly manipu- 

 lated on to her wrist and in triumph 

 lowered down and fed. We now consider 

 him completely domesticated, and as a 



26 



