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proverb,—“ A good Falcon, a noble hound and a swift 
horse are often more valuable than twenty wives,”—for 
the manners and customs of his country render it easy 
for him to get rid of a bad wife, while even there it is 
extremely difficult to obtain one of the above-named 
creatures in perfection. 
It is certainly true that with these animals their reason 
becomes awakened, developed, or cultivated by their con¬ 
tact with man, but we do not affirm that any action of a 
bird, which is to us incomprehensible, is originally due 
to man’s agency; but, simply, that birds adopt much which 
is in harmony with their altered position or circumstances. 
My tame Ibises used always to walk into the dining-room 
in our house, at Kartoum, the moment they saw the 
plates and dishes carried in, because they were fully 
aware that they would then be sure to have some share 
in the entertainment. If we did not immediately give 
them something, they would hop on our chairs and peck 
and play about us, nor, indeed, were pleading glances 
wanting. They were not taught this by anyone ; like our 
domestic pets they soon learnt to know their names, and 
to come when called. Their intelligence showed itself in 
their whole demeanour, and reminded me very much of 
Yon Seyffertitz’s Crane, to which I have before alluded, 
and of which bird’s history I will acquaint my readers in 
the words of its owner:— 
“ The extraordinary cleverness and trustful character 
of my young Cranes,” writes our excellent observer to my 
father, “ have reached such a degree of cultivation that 
they engage the attention and awake the astonishment of 
all who see them. In a very short time they not only 
lost all fear of man and domestic animals, but even 
sought the companionship of the former. They knew 
