440 IHCK HKOWNELL'S LAST EXPLOIT IN INDIA. 



The laughing king fisher of Australia is an exquisitely beautiful bird, and one 

 of the largest species. It is as fond of reptiles as of fish. 



What a queer-looking bird is the hornbill ! The male is addicted to the extraor- 

 dinary practice of plastering up the female with her egg and feeding her during 

 the whole period of incubation, or till the young one is fledged. 



There is reason to believe that the dinornis is found in New Zealand. It 

 towers aloft like a giraffe, but is very rare, and my friends were unable to obtain a 

 specimen. 



The brush turkey, of Australia, New Guinea and the chain of islands in the South 

 Pacific Ocean, is a remarkable bird. In the months of August and September, 

 when there is scarcely any rain, they come down in pairs from the interior, and 

 scratch holes three or four feet deep, just above high-water mark, where the female 

 deposits her single egg. Covering this with a foot of sand, she goes back to the 

 forest. Ten or twelve days later she makes another visit and lays a second egg, 

 continuing until six or eight are deposited. The male bird gives his help in 

 digging the hole and covering the egg, the two birds closely resembling each other 

 in appearance. Several females lay in the same hole. The natives come many 

 miles to plunder the nests, the eggs when fresh being very delicious, and they are 

 of large size. The parent bird gives no further attention to them after covering 

 them up in the sand. The young, on breaking the shell, take to the woods at once, 

 and are able to fly a few hours after hatching. 



The scissors-bill is noted for its long and compressed beak, the under mandible 

 being much larger than the upper, and closing into it like a knife-blade into the 

 handle. Skimming swiftly over the water, and close to the surface, its sharp bill 

 cuts the water, gathering up crustaceans, fish and mollusks, on which it feeds. 

 Running along the beach, it skillfully inserts its beak in the bivalves, and, striking 

 the shells against the stones, breaks them and devours the contents. 



I wish I could procure a specimen of the apteryx of New Zealand, called 

 " kiwi " by the natives, who are fond of its flesh. It keeps out of sight in the deep 

 recesses of the forest until night, when the birds come forth in couples to search 

 for food, which is readily seen in the darkness. 



The natives capture it by imitating its whistling cry. They say the bird buries 

 its eggs in the sand, and hatches them by sitting beneath, instead of over them. 

 This is doubtful, since those at the London Zoological Garden hatch them in the 

 usual fashion. It lays one egg at a time and breeds twice a year. 



The pelican is found in North Africa, and in the south and east of Europe. I 

 believe it is the largest of the swimming birds, and you have noticed their immense 

 pouches, some of which can be dilated enough to hold two gallons of water. 



The eared grebe is a rare British bird. It is a fine swimmer, very active in the 

 water, and is able to stay a long time under the surface, where it swims swiftly 

 with the aid of its wings and feet. 



The adjutant bird belongs to India, and attains a height of six feet, its extended 

 wings measuring nearly three times as much, from tip to tip. Its head and neck 



