48 



carriage, and beautiful metallic brilliancy of plumage, more espe- 

 cially over the head and neck. 



This bird had been in captivity four months previous to its arrival 

 in Sydney, having been captured by the blacks. It permits any one 

 to approach it, only timidly moving away when an attempt is made 

 to touch it. It sometimes stands quite erect, or on one leg, with the 

 other thrown out ; or rests upon the tarsi, like the Emeu and Mooruk, 

 and again upon one leg, with the bill inclined upon the breast. It 

 w^as very hungry on its arrival at my house, and with the greatest 

 facility devoured \h lb. of beef cut into small pieces, placed in a 

 tub .of water, or caught the meat in the mandibles when thrown to 

 it. It also feeds on fish and reptiles. When the food is hard or 

 gristly, it is rejected from the mandibles after trying to masticate it, 

 and bruised with the point of the beak until it becomes sufficiently 

 soft to be swallowed. It feeds generally in the mornings and even- 

 ings ; and although the mandibles look so large, it picks up the 

 smallest object with great readiness, and clatters the mandibles with 

 a loud noise when catching flies. It preens its feathers, and removes 

 any dirt or insects from them very neatly with the bill, accompanying 

 the action with a degree of ease and grace pleasing to observe. When 

 a tub of water was placed irear it, it placed one leg in it ; and after 

 drinking, filled its bill with water and threw it out again, as if washing 

 out the mandibles. The eye is very large and remarkably brilliant, 

 and yet imparts to the bird a great docility of expression, making it 

 appear — what it is— an amiable bird, familiar with all around it, 

 liking to court admiration, yet on the watch for any act of aggres- 

 sion. It appears pleased to see any stranger, and evinces but little 

 fear. The horses coming into the yard even close to it, or any 

 noise, does not seem to annoy it ; it only moves gently out of the way. 

 When suddenly startled, it will flap its long and powerful wings as 

 if preparing for flight ; and it may be regarded as a bird of flight, 

 the whole bulk of the body being so light in comparison with its 

 powerful organs of volition. This bird is partial to salt-water creeks 

 and lagoons. It is usually seen in such localities on the Hunter, Mac- 

 leay, and Clarence Rivers, which consist, near the entrance and for 

 some miles distant, of salt water with numerous sand-banks, where 

 these birds may be occasionally observed busily engaged in fishing. 

 The beak of this bird is large, broad, conical, and pointed ; the lower 

 mandible is slightly curved upwards ; the colour is black. The head 

 is large, and neck thick ; both the head and neck are of a rich 

 deep glossy green, changing when it reaches the occiput into beau- 

 tiful iridescent colours of violet and purple, which, when viewed 

 under a brilliant sunshine or in a changing light, display the irides- 

 cent tints in a most brilliant manner, shining with a metallic efful- 

 gence equal to that seen in the Peacock. The greater wing-coverts, 

 scapularies, lower part of the back and tail, dark brown mixed with 

 rich bluish green, which changes in the adult to a rich glossy green 

 tinged with a golden lustre. The smaller wing-coverts, lower part 

 of the neck and back, and upper part of the breast white speckled 

 with ashy brown, which becomes white in the adult ; lower part of 



