THE AUSTRALIAN J A BIRD. :,:,:> 



cock as a tiger. Some enemies, however, from which man would tiee, are attacked and killed 

 by the Adjutant, which thus redeems himself from a wholly pusillanimous character. Serpents 

 fall an easy prey to this bird, which has a fashion of knocking them over before they can 

 strike, and after battering them to death swallows them whole. During the inundations the 

 Adjutants are invaluable, as they follow the course of the rising waters, and make prey of the 

 reptiles that are driven from their holes by the floods. 



The capacity of the Adjutant's stomach seems to be almost unlimited, and its digestion is 

 so rapid that it can consume a very large amount of food daily. It will swallow a whole joint 

 of meat, or even so impracticable a subject as a tortoise, its stomach being endowed with the 

 power of dissolving all the soft and digestible parts, and ejecting the indigestible, such as the 

 shell and bones. 



It is easily tamed, and soon attaches itself to a kind owner; sometimes, indeed, becoming 

 absolutely troublesome in its familiarity. Mr. Smeathman mentions an instance where one of 

 these birds was domesticated, and was accustomed to stand behind its master's chair at dinner- 

 time, and take its share of the meal. It was, however, an incorrigible thief, and was always 

 looking for some opportunity of stealing the provisions, so that the servants were forced to 

 keep watch with sticks over the table. In spite of their vigilance it was often too quick for 

 them ; and once it snatched a boiled fowl off the dish and swallowed it on the spot. 



The exquisitely line and flowing plumes, termed "Marabou feathers," are obtained from 

 the Adjutant and a kindred species, the Marabou of Africa (Leptoptilos marabou). 



The general color of the Adjutant is delicate ashen-gray above and white beneath. The 

 great head and proportionately large neck are almost bare of covering, having only a scanty 

 supply of down instead of feathers. From the lower part of the neck hangs a kind of dewlap, 

 which can be inflated at the will of the bird, but generally hangs loose and flabby. 



The Jabikus rank among the giants of the feathered race. They are very similar in gen- 

 eral form to the marabous, but may be distinguished from them by the form of bill, which 

 slightly turns up towards the extremity. The head and part of the neck are also nearly desti- 

 tute of feathers. There are very few species known, and they all seem to have similar habits ; 

 haunting the borders of lakes, marshy grounds, and the banks of rivers, where they find 

 abundance of the fish and aquatic reptiles on which they feed. Of one species, the Austra- 

 lian Jabiru, Dr. Bennett has treated so fully and •with such graphic powers of narration, that 

 a condensation of his interesting account must be transferred to these pages. The whole nar- 

 rative may be found in his " Gatherings of a Naturalist in Australia." One of these birds was 

 taken at Port Macquarie and brought safely to Dr. Bennett's home: — 



"The first evening it was at my house, it walked into the hall, gazed at the gas-lamps 

 which had just been lighted, and then j)roceeded to walk upstairs seeking for a roosting-place ; 

 but not liking the ascent came quickly down again, returned into the yard, and afterwards 

 went to roost in the coach-house between the carriages, to which place it now retires regularly 

 every evening soon after dark. It may always be found in that part of the yard where the 

 sun is shining, and with its face invariably directed towards it. When hungry it seeks for 

 the cook, who usually feeds it ; and if she has neglected its food, looks into the kitchen as if 

 to remind her of her neglect, and waits quietly, but with a searching eye, during the time the 

 meat is cutting up, until it is fed. 



" It is amusing to observe this bird catch flies ; it remains very quiet as if asleep, and on a 

 fly passing, it is snapped up in an instant. The only time I observed any manifestation of 

 anger in it, was when the mooruks were introduced into the yard where it was parading about. 

 These rapid, fussy, noisy birds, running about its range, excited its indignation ; for on their 

 coming near, it slightly elevated the brilliant feathers of the head, its eyes became very bright, 

 it ruffled its feathers, and chattered its mandibles, as if about to try their sword-like edge upon 

 the intruding mooruks, but the anger subsided without further demonstration than an occa- 

 sional flapping of its powerful wings. One day, however, on one of the mooruks approaching 

 too near him, he seized it by the neck with his mandibles, on which the mooruk ran away and 

 did not appear in any way injured. 



