154 THE STORY OF A BIRD LOVER 



in by a well-trained hunting dog. At last a day 

 came when a baked ham appeared on the dinner 

 table. Grouse was given a morsel or two, but 

 his carnivorous longings were unappeased. The 

 same evening he came into the sitting room look- 

 ing crestfallen and dejected, gave a low bark to 

 attract my attention, and then ran to the door. 

 I understood his meaning ; he wanted me to go 

 with him. I followed out of the house. He led 

 me across the island in the moonlight, and showed 

 me the ham lying on a fallen palmetto leaf. He 

 had stolen it, but his conscience would not per- 

 mit him to eat it, hungry as he was. His attitude 

 expressed both humiliation, penitence, and a long- 

 ing for forgiveness. He could not keep his secret. 

 Until now my studies of the birds of Florida 

 had been confined to the interior, and while 

 aquatic birds were abundant, they were such as are 

 associated with fresh water. Now truly marine 

 birds predominated. Almost at once I became 

 acquainted with brown pelicans, royal and Fos- 

 ter's terns, double-crested cormorants, while ducks 

 of many kinds were conspicuous. Among these 

 I may mention buff -breasted and hooded mergan- 

 sers, widgeons, pintails, blue-winged teals, and 

 mallards. In addition the vast palmetto and 

 cedar swamps of the mainland hard by afforded 

 excellent collecting ground for such land-birds as 

 characterize this part of Florida. Two kinds of 



