24 GBOMPTON— Observation of Laughing Jackass. 



breaking the head of a snake against one of the branches 

 nearest to us, not more than 30 or 40 feet away. We were 

 much excited and at first did not move lest he should fly away. 

 After watching him some minutes my sister went in doors to 

 call the other members of the household — all four came and 

 enjoyed the wonderful sight of the jackass quietly and steadily 

 breaking every bone in the snake beginning at the head. He 

 snapped his beak right along to the tail moving the creature 

 from left to right and then from right to left back to the head 

 again. This he did three times, sitting quite still apparently, 

 so intent that he neither saw nor cared if we were watching 

 1 im. The first time the snake passed through the beak we 

 could hear the crushing of bones, and the snake was in con- 

 tracted curves, and each time as it was passed between the bill 

 it hung in a straighter line till finally it hung like a piece of 

 tape, we thought between eighteen inches and two feet long. 



This done he dextrously turned the head into his beak and 

 swallowed rapidly, till about six inches of the tail was left 

 langing down on the right side of the beak, he having his 

 back turned towards us. For some minutes he sat quite still, 

 then a few vigorous chuckles and it was swallowed, he care 

 fully wiping his bill against the branch of the tree to right and 

 left. We laughed and talked and after a minute or two more, 

 he flow to a tree about 35 or 40 yards away looking very heavy 

 and slow in his flight. There he settled to comfortably enjoy 

 his very hearty meal. 



Afterwards we learned that the gardener saw the bird pick 

 up his prize in the vineyard where they were ploughing. He 

 took it to be a large frog, so it must have been coiled up. 

 This contradicts the theory that the laughing jackass kills its 

 prev by dropping it on the ground from a height. 



