THE A UST/: I A / I N I UUR V, 



cork ns a tiip-r. Some em-mies. however, from whi-h man would llee, are attacked and killed 



by the Adjutant, which thus redeem* himself from a wli,.|l\ pu-illanimou- character. Serpent* 

 full an ea-\ pre\ to this bird. which has :i fashion of knocking lhMii o\.-r U-fore th.-\ ran 

 strike. ami after kitlering them to death -wallow- them whole. burini: tin- inundation- the 

 Adjutants are imaluablc. a> the\ follow tin- .-..tux.- <.f tin- rising waters, and make prey of the 

 reptiles that an- dri\<-n fnnn their hole- l>y tin- llood- 



The rajuu-ity of the Adjutant'- -tontacli -eem- to ! almo-t unlimited, ami its digestion 10 

 - rapid that it .-an con-mm- a vi> lar_-.' amount of food ilaily. It will swallow a whole joint 

 of meat, or c\.-n so impracticable a svb}afl| as a ti t.ii-.-, it- -loiuarh U-inic ''mlownd with tin- 

 [Ntw.T nf .liol\ in^' all tli.' -oft aii'l ilL'i-Mil.lf pail-, ami j.'c-tinif Hie iiiiHp'M iltlf, MH'li a-. th- 

 -h.-ll ami 1" mas. 



It i> <-a-il\ tai ..... 1. ami *oon attach.-* it.s-If t< a kind owner; w>in>tinn*s, inlcMl, l-<-oininj 

 y troiil)IfS4inu> in it- faiiiiliaiit\ . Mr. Sin.-athinan m.-ntioiis an instaiu-i* when- on*' of 



- l.ipl- was ilonifsti<-at.-<l, and MM l0eDBtoincl ' -i.in-l l'liiifl it- iiutftet'l iiair at .linii.-r- 

 tinu-, ami tak.- it- >h:in- if tin- im-al. It \\a.s. how.-v.-r, an incorri^ilil.- thi.-f. ami wjw ulwaytt 

 looking for some oi >i tort unity <>f -t.-silini; tin- pnivisinns. MI that tin- servants .. forr.-<| to 

 keep watch with .sti<-ks ovei the table. In spite of their vigilance it wa* often t.. .piii-k fc.i- 

 them ; an<l om-e it -natcheil a lM>ile<l fo-.vl oil the <lish ami -wallowe<l it on the s|Kit. 



The .-x.piisitely line ami (lowing jilnni.---. t.-ini.-l ManiUni f.-atln-is. 11 an- ulitaiiied from 

 the Adjutant and a kindred sp-<-i.--. the MaraUm of Africa (LtfllpMM tiuimlnnn. 



The u'enei-il color of the Adjutant is delicate a-h.-n^ray above and while U-n.-ath. Tlje 

 gpwt h.-ad ami projM.rtioiiately lar^e ne<-k are almost lure of co\.-iiiiLT. ha\ inir only u Hranty 

 supply of down instead of feathers. From the lower part of the m-ck han^s a kind of dewlap, 

 which can be inflated nt the will of the bird, but generally lianas loo-- and tlabby. 



TIIK .I.viiiui - nink anionv the gianta of the feathered nice. They are \,-iy -imilar in 

 eral form to the nianilxuis, hut may In- distin^uishiMl fn>m them l.y the fonn of bill, which 

 sliirhtly turns \\\\ toward- tli-- \ii'-inity. The ln-ad and jtart of the m-<-k are also nearly dewti- 

 tute of feathers. Then- an- M-IV few species known, and they all seem to have similar hahite; 

 haunting the borders of lakes, marshy grounds, and the banks of rivers, where they find 

 abundance of the fish and aquatic reptiles on which they feed, of one species, the AUSTRA- 

 ii ^s .1 \ m 1:1, Ir. Hennett has treat-d so fully and with such graphic JM.W.TS of narration, that 

 a condensation of his interesting account must le transferred to these pages. The whole nar- 

 rative may be found in his "Gathering of a Naturalist in Australia." One of these birds was 

 taken at Port Macquarie and brought safely to Dr. Bennett's home : 



"The first evening it was at my house, it walked into the hall, gazed at the gas-lamps 

 which had just been lighted, and then proceeded to walk upstairs seeking for a roosting-place ; 

 but not liking the ascent came quickly down again, returned into the yard, and afterwards 

 went to roost in the coach-house lietween the carriages, to which place it now retires regularly 



\er\ .-\eiiini: -<HIII after dark. I' nia\ alua\- U- f..iind in that part ..f th.- \ard wln-n- the 

 sun is shining, and with its face invariably directed towards it. When hungry it seeks for 

 the cook, who usually feeds it ; and if she has neglected its f<x>d, looks into the kitchen as if 

 to remind her of her negl.-rt, and waits quietly, but with a searching eye, during the time the 

 meat is cutting up, until it is fed. 



It is amusing to observe this bird catch flies ; it remains very quiet as if asleep, and on a 

 fly passing, it is snapped up in an instant. The only time I observed any manifestation of 

 anger in it, was when the moornks were introduced into the yard where it was parading about 

 These rapid, fussy, noisy birds, running aNmt its range, excited its indignation ; for on their 

 coming near, it sliirhtly .-I. -\at.-d the brilliant feathers of the head, its eyes became very bright, 

 it ru tll-d its feathers, and chattered it- mandibles, as if about to try their sword-like edge upon 

 the intruding mooruks, but the anger subsided without further demonstration than an occa- 

 sional Happing of its powerful wings. One day, however. <-n one of the mooruks appi-oachimr 

 too near him. he seized it by the neck with his mandibles, on which the mooruk ran away and 

 did not appear in any way injured. 



