258 Mr. R. I. Pocock,


and spread out his wings, kick his legs in the air, and then

tumble about as if hi a fit. At other times he appears intent

upon catching worms : lie steps slowly, his neck close to his

body, his crest flat on his back, all his feathers smooth and close ;

he raises one foot, and with two or three gentle strokes he paws

the ground, swiftly he darts his bill into the earth and draws

forth a worm, a sudden shake and it is swallowed ; again he runs ;

stopping suddenly, he makes another dart ; and thus he continues

to capture this kind of food. With respect to feeding, this bird

differs much from the Heron family, seeking out, in every hole

and corner, worms, snails, and other living things, whenever

they are not in motion : as soon as a snail is found, he

breaks its shell by repeated knocks upon the ground, and after

shaking the fragments of the broken shell off, the animal is

swallowed. In no instance, however, that I have observed, does

this bird eat bread, seed, or any kind of vegetable, but strictly

confines himself to insects and other animal substances."


Mr. Bartlett remarks upon the extent to which powder-

down is developed on the plumage of the Kagu, and points out

many features which resemble Eurypyga, the Sun Bittern, a bird

to which it has since been shown, by anatomical investigation,

to possess a somewhat strong affinity. (See also Avicultural

Magazine, Vol. III., N.S. pp. 280-282.)



ON THE NESTING OF THE AVOCETS


( ' Recnrvirostra avocetta)


IN THE ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS.


By R. I. Pocock, FX.S., F.Z.S., M.B.O.U.,

Superintendent of the Gardens.


The Plovers' Aviary in the Zoological Gardens has proved

up to the present time a conspicuous and all round success in

every particular save one : the shore birds, for whom it was

especially designed, have hitherto failed to breed. This reproach

has now been removed by the hatching of some young Avocets ;

and the occurrence, interesting in itself for the reason just stated,

is rendered doubly so by the fact that birds of this species have



