510 TAME MOORUKS. 



unpacked, squatting down on each side, most intently watching the pi-ocess, and occasionally 

 pecking at the straw and contents. 



" When the carpenter was in the yard, making some altenition in the cage of tljese bix'ds, 

 it was very amusing to see them squat down upon their tarsi, like dogs, watching the man, 

 with the greatest apparent interest in all his actions, enjoying the hammering noise, and occa- 

 sionally picking uj) a nail, whicli was not in this instance swallowed, but again dropped ; one 

 one of them swallowed his 'oilstone,' wliicli so alarmed the man that he considered the bird 

 had committed siacide, and hurried to inform me of the circumstance, when, to his surprise, I 

 told him if he did not take care they would swallow Ins hammer, nails, and chisel. The birds 

 kei)t close to the man until he left foi- dinner, when they went about the yard as usual, resum- 

 ing their i)Osition near him as soon as he returned to his work, and not leaving until he had 

 finished. 



" These birds invariably retire to roost at dusk, and nothing more is seen or heard of them 

 until daylight, as they never leave their usual roosting-i)lace after retiring ; indeed, their usual 

 time of roosting is as soon as the sun is on the verge of setting, even before the poultry depart ; 

 and on looking at them about this time in their retirement, they utter their usual gi'eeting 

 ciurps, and one may be observed ivposing ui)on the breast, the other upon the tarsi. The 

 door may be safely left ojien during the night, as they will not move, nor leave their sleeping- 

 place, until the dawn of day. If, during any hour of the night, I approached their resting- 

 place, they innnediately greeted me with their jieculiar chirping noise, being evidently, like 

 geese, very watchful, or, according to the common saying, ' sleeping with one eye open ; ' 

 when gazed at, they not only chiri^ed, but, if I continued too long, I was saluted by a loud 

 growl. 



" One morning the male Mooruk was missing, and was found in the bedroom upstaii's, 

 drinking water out of the water-Jug. There wer(^ some silkworms in the room at the time, bat 

 they were fortunately covered ; otlierwise, I have no doubt, he would have made a meal of 

 them. The same bird swallowed a bung-cork which measured one and a half inch in diameter ; 

 indeed they both seem to swallow anything from butter and eggs to iron, in the form of small 

 bolts or nails and stones. The bird did not api)ear well ; he was sulky and heavy all day ; and 

 when, in tins sickly state, any one approached him, instead of being greeted with a cheerful 

 chiri)ing, he uttered a loud sulky growl ; we wei'e afraid he was dying. On the following day 

 he was as lively as ever, having passed the coi'k in a perfectly undigested state. 



"To show how dangerous it was to leave any object capable of being swallowed, I will 

 relate the following occuiTence : The servant was starching some muslin cuffs, and having com- 

 pleted one and hung it up to dry, she Avas about to finish the other, when, hearing the bell 

 ring, she squeezed up the cuft", threw it into th(^ starch, and attended to the siimmons. On her 

 return the cuff was gone, and she could not imagine who had taken it during her brief absence, 

 when she discovered that the IMooruk was the thief, its beak and head being covered with 

 starch; he had without doubt swallowed it. This occurred at eleven a.m., and at half-past 

 five 1'. M. the cuff was i)assed, quite undigested and uninjured, and with a little washing was 

 as good as evei'. 



"They ccmld not digest unboiled 2)()tato. Maize, or any unboiled grain, was likewise 

 indigestible. When a piec(_^ of ))read was offered them at a height beyond their reach, they 

 woidd first strelcli up the body and neck as much as possible, and tlien, finding they could not 

 get it, they would jump up for it like a dog. They were frequently seen running and tumbling 

 about the yard together in high sjjirits. It is well to warn persons, inclined to keep these 

 birds as pets, of their insatiable ])ropensities. AVhen about the house, they displayed extraordi- 

 nary delight in a. va-iiety ()f diet ; foi', as I have previously related, one day they satisfied their 

 appetites with bones, whetstones, corks, nails, and raw i)otatoes, most of which passed per- 

 fectly undigested ; one dived into thick starch and devoured a muslin cuff, whilst the other 

 evinced a great partiality for nails and pebbles ; then they stole the jal)iru's meat from the 

 water. If eggs and ))utter were left upon the kitchen-table, they were soon devoured hy these 

 marauders ; and when the servants were at their dinner in the kitchen, they had to be very 

 watchful, for the long necks of the bii'ds appeared between their arras, devouring everything 



