American Bird- Visitors to Irela^id at Home. 295 



takes down his gun, which for over three months has been 

 idle, and again visits his favourite hunting-ground. The 

 great river has been shrinking all through the hot summer, 

 and is now a paltry stream less than half a mile wide, and 

 leaving wide stretches of sand, where waters were deep in the 

 fresh spring-time, and where now the islands with their luxu- 

 riant foliage appear as oases in a desert. Here and there, 

 pools of water are left, and the same eddy of the great river 

 that hollowed out the sandy bottom has undermined the 

 bank, and several large trees lie in a tangled mass in and 

 above the pool. On the topmost of the dead branches the 

 bird well called Kingfisher sits, and rattles loudly as the col- 

 lector tries vainly to approach unobserved the likely spot. 

 A big heron rises, wariest of birds, rarely giving a chance for 

 a shot. Soon he is followed by a beautiful Wood-duck; 

 several small Green Herons wait a little longer among the 

 branches, but finally follow their big brother; a pair of Soli- 

 tary Sandpipers spread their long wings, and lightly cross the 

 pond, and from the farther side watch the stranger, solemnly 

 jerking their heads the while. Soon they are followed by 

 several little Spotted Sandpipers that run backwards and 

 forwards on the edge of the pool, or along the logs, inces- 

 santly jerking their tails. A Woodpecker, that was making a 

 good breakfast by scaling off the dead bark, utters a sharp 

 note of alarm as he flies off, while several little turtles that 

 have been basking on the logs, fall with a loud "k-plunk" 

 into the water, and a black-and-white water-snake glides 

 noiselessly in with them. But still the Kingfisher holds his 

 position of command, flying from one post of observation to 

 another, or at times poising almost stationary in the air with 

 rapidly-beating wings, and uttering his rattling note of indig- 

 nation and defiance. How shall we close the scene? He is 

 easily within shot, and a beautiful bird, an ornament to any 

 cabinet. But let us be better than mere collectors this morn- 

 ing. To the ornithologist, ej^es and note-book are better 

 tools than gun and scalpel. Let us look our fill, and then 

 leave him and his companions of the lonely pool, and trudge 

 homeward over the hot sand, with game-bag empty perhaps, 

 but with mind and heart full of the beauties and wonders of 

 creation. 



