" BLUEY ' 83 



a person's partly closed hand. Then he would go 

 to sleep as peacefully as a child in its mother's arms, 

 uttering a peculiar little chirp as he cozied himself 

 into a comfortable position. He was very particular 

 never to sit in a hand except with his head towards 

 the fingers ; occasionally by mistake he got in 

 facing the wrist, but he would immediately hop out, 

 and, turning round, assume his regular position. 

 When in a particularly affectionate mood he liked 

 to rub his beak repeatedly on one's fingers, before 

 going to sleep. This seemed to be a mark of 

 endearment, somewhat after the manner in which 

 a dog rubs his nose against his master's hand. It 

 must be an unusual habit, for in all my experience 

 with small birds I have known of no similar case. 



At times, but by no means often, Bluey per- 

 formed a little trick that was as remarkable as it 

 was beautiful. If one of us held up a hand (and 

 no stranger need apply) and called him by name, 

 he would immediately fly down, and after hovering 

 for some seconds, singing the while, alight and rub 

 his bill several times, usually on the first finger. 

 It was noticeable that he always perched so as to 

 face the fingers, and never, even by accident, 

 departed from this rule. Why this should be was 

 a constant source of speculation, and one that I 

 fear must for ever remain among the many 

 mysteries of bird-life. We try, generally in vain, 

 to discover the reasons for the actions of birds, but 

 it is difficult, as we have but our own experiences 

 to go by, and, while birds do most undoubtedly 

 think, they probably do so in a totally different 

 manner from ourselves. When Bluey saw his bath 



G 2 



