EXPLANATORY INDEX. 427 



The second view was taken from the front, when the Jabiru 

 was enjoying itself in the sun. While thus employed, it 

 kept up a continual shivering movement of the feathers, just 

 as has been related of the ibis. In its native state it is to be 



JABIRU SUNNING ITSELK 



found on the banks of lakes, marshes, and rivers, and feeds 

 upon the aquatic reptiles, fish, &c., which it finds in such 

 localities. 



Every traveller in Guiana is sure to see this splendid bird, 

 and Mr. C. B. Brown often met with it. He gives the 

 following description of the nestling : 



" I was greatly amused with the appearance of two young 

 but fully fledged Jabirus, which stood on their large, flat nest, 

 composed of sticks entwined together, on the branch of a 

 large isolated tree, growing on the river's bank. They looked 

 like two shipwrecked mariners on a rock in mid- ocean, 

 waiting to be delivered from their lonely watch by a passing 

 ship. They stood there as if scanning the horizon, apparently 

 deep in thought, shifting their position now and then from 

 one leg to the other, or taking a solemn or stately stroll 

 round the confines of their nest. Thus we left them, to await 

 the time when their powers of flight would be sufficiently 

 developed to enable them to go forth into the world and 

 forage for themselves. They were fully feathered with a 

 grey plumage, which on moulting would change to pure 

 white." 



The same author mentions, on another page, the habits of 



