3o6 cassell's book of birds. 



them out of the yard, which he invariably did with the strange poultry. The Bantam Cock was on the 

 top of the wall, out of reach, viewing the kicking scene below among his hens with the greatest astonish- 

 ment. The Bantam and his hens were not our property, but were tenants next door, and the Mooruk 

 therefore considered himself justified in turning them out. It is common, however, at other times to 

 see our poultry and the Mooruks on the most amiable terms, scraping together, and feeding on the 

 dunghill and in the yard." So e.xtraordinary is the voracity of these strange birds, that no object, 

 however impossible of digestion, comes amiss to them. Dr. Bennett's account of the annoyance his 

 captives gave by indulging this propensity is too amusing to be curtailed. 



" The instant the Mooruk saw an egg laid by a hen, he darted upon it, and, breaking the shell, 

 devoured it as if he had been accustomed to eggs all his life. A servant was unpacking a cask ; 

 as soon as the birds heard the noise they both ran down to it, and remained there whilst it was 

 unpacked, squatting down on each side most intently watching the process, and occasionally pecking 

 at the straw and contents. When the carpenter was in the yard making some alterations in their cage, 

 previous to their voyage to England, it was very amusing to see them squat down upon their tarsi like 

 dogs, watching the man with the greatest apparent interest in all his actions, enjoying the hammering 

 noise, and occasionally picking up a nail, which was not in this instance swallowed, but again 

 dropped. One of them, however, bolted the oilstone, which so alarmed the man lest the bird had 

 committed suicide, that he hurried to me and informed me of the circumstance, when, to his surprise, 

 I told hiih if he did not take care they would also swallow his hammer, nails, and chisels. The birds 

 kept close to the man until he left for dinner, resuming their position near him as soon as he returned 

 to work, and not leaving him till he had finished. One morning the male Mooruk was missing, and 

 was found in the bedroom upstairs drinking out of the water-jug. The same bird swallowed a bun£- 

 cork which measured one inch and a half in diameter — indeed, both seemed to swallow anything, 

 from butter and eggs to iron bolts, nails, and stones. The servant was starching some muslin cuffs, 

 and having completed one and hung it up to dry, she was about to finish the other, when hearing the 

 bell ring, she squeezed up the cuff, threw it into the starch, and attended to the summons. On her 

 return the cuff was gone, and she could not imagine who had taken it during her brief absence, when 

 she discovered that the Mooruk was the thief, its beak and head being covered with starch. Notwith- 

 standing this propensity to swallow every variety of object, the digestive power of these birds is by- 

 no means strong, even such food as unboiled grain or raw potato being rejected whole from the 

 stomach." 



Dr. Bennett's male Mooruk measured three feet two inches to the top of the head, and the 

 female three feet. An egg presented by that gentleman to Mr. Gould was five inches and a half 

 long by three and a half broad, the shell a pale buff, covered with pale green corrugations. Another 

 egg, laid in the Gardens of the Zoological Society, was pale grass-green, much smoother, and more 

 finely granulated than that of the Common Cassowary ; it measured six inches by nearly four, and 

 weighed twenty-two ounces and a half. The pair of Mooruks whose habits are above described 

 bred in the London Zoological Gardens. According to Dr. Sclater, the incubation lasted seven weeks, 

 the male alone brooding. A single young one was hatched, which was unfortunately destroyed the 

 same day by rats. In 1866 the parents were more successful, and the scientific were delighted with 

 the sight of a young Mooruk hatched in captivity. This pretty and interesting little creature was 

 covered with light, yellowish brown down, and striped with dark brown on its body and legs. The 

 first day of its quitting the shell it could scarcely walk, but on the second used its legs readily, and 

 uttered a cry somewhat resembling that of a chicken. The father, who alone had brooded, at once 

 undertook entire charge of his little treasure, leading it about with the utmost care, guiding it to pick 

 up the food thrown down for it, and at night allowing it to nestle beneath his plumage. 



