on Patagonian Plovers and Trumpeter Birds. 203


saying I have a tiny “-white-nosed” monkey from the Gold Coast

the dearest little pet imaginable, with whom Penini plays. They

are companions to each other, and in many ways there is a resem¬

blance between them. Both are full of mischief, and if I am busy

washing the leaves of a plant, they will snatch up the sponge and rush

off with it, just for the fun of having a mad race round the garden :

and then, what they don’t like quite so well, is being seized and held

until the sponge has to be rescued by main force ! Both Trumpeter

Bird and monkey sleep in the house and breakfast with us in the

dining room. When there is no frost the Trumpeter flies out of the

window afterwards, and should the monkey at any time be left in a

conservatory or aviary [empty, bien entendu] the Trumpeter will

stand beside the door to watch and keep him company. Then

when Puck is allowed freedom, and swings and throws himself from

one branch to another in the large trees, Penini will be found under

an Arbutus tree, very often eating the bright red fruit that the

monkey picks and throws down to him.


I have learnt much about keeping Trumpeters from my last

experience, when I lost my poor bird through its feet getting frost

bitten. Now, I know that they must never stand on frosty ground,

though rain in moderation does not seem to hurt them, and both my

birds bathed many times in the pond during the coldest winter

months. Also, I know better now how to feed them! my present bird

has much raw beef, with plenty of fat (which he likes best) fresh

every morning, rice pudding in the afternoon, and grapes, banana,

and little bits of cake occasionally, of which he is very fond ; besides

bits of bread, biscuit, and sometimes the head of a sole, the only

part of the fish he cares for. I was told to feed my first bird on

rice, boiled in water, (this one will not eat it ) and vegetables, which

neither bird would eat, also hard-boiled eggs, which they will not eat

for long. Meat is what they require, in addition to insects they

pick up, which are few in winter. My bird is in perfect health, and

best of all, plump and full of spirit. He has never ailed a day since

I bought him from Mr. Cross nearly two years ago, who told me he

had been a fortnight in England, and had been the pet of a Brazilian

lady who brought him over but could not keep him.


The difficulty with Trumpeter Birds is that they cannot sleep



