V 



BIKD SOCIOLOGY 



THE MILK OF AVIAN KINDNESS 



NOTICING an extremely interesting letter in the Spectator 

 of January 28, I would beg to give you an account of 

 bird-kindness witnessed by a doctor, another minister, and 

 myself here in Durban. During an exceptionally heavy 

 tropical rain three weeks ago, two ducks of the common 

 half-bred native and Bombay variety got washed in the 

 flood down the Umgeni river, which flows through the 

 town gardens. The ducks both got entangled in the 

 barbed wire and wire netting which crosses from bank to 

 bank. One managed by much flapping of wings to extri- 

 cate itself ; the other seemed, however, to be on the point 

 of drowning, when a large cock ostrich stalked out of the 

 bush and waded into the river, lifted it bodily out of the 

 water, and carried it ashore by one wing. The duck was 

 not badly hurt, but its rescuer was severely torn on its 

 thigh muscles by the barbed wire. I may mention that 

 this is all the more remarkable as the ostrich, with rare 

 exceptions, buries its head in the sand during a storm, 

 and will starve to death sooner than move. The same 

 ostrich is a well known character in Durban, the Kaffir 

 gardener being its especial bete noir, many being the tales 

 told of single combat between the two, bird versus " boy." 



K. G. PEAESE. 



April 15, 1905. 



NOTE. See p. 79. 



125 



