::::;::::*; TWO BIRD- LOVERS IN MEXICO B:-"""" 



these birds we should not have known it, so chans-e- 

 able were their feathers under the rays of the early 

 morning- sun. All that was lacking- was for them to 

 perforin their wing-dance, such as Hudson describes 

 in the case of a South American species. This was 

 denied us, but they had a way of raising first one wino- 

 and then the other straight up, showing- plainly the 

 horny spur at the bend of the wing. This action w\is 

 as graceful as it was inexplicable. The long- thin toes 

 and claws showed how easily they could pick their way 

 over the floating lily-pads. The conspicuous shield of 

 orange skin spi-ead out upon the forehead was another 

 bizarre touch in the appearance of tliese strange birds. 

 When at last they sprang into the air for a short flight, 

 each wing trave forth flash after flash of rich yellow; 

 and by this characteristic we were always able to detect 

 the presence of this species, even among a hundred 

 other birds. 



The roar of win<rs was like a hiofh wind as we raised 

 our heads above the surrounding reeds. Scores of birds, 

 whose proximity we had never suspected, hurled them- 

 selves into water and air. The lake was churned into 

 a foam as the hundreds of webbed feet thrashed its 

 surface, and a sweet, shrill chorus of peets ! sweets ! 

 arose from the cloud of shore-birds. The yellow wing- 

 quills of the jacanas glistened in the sunlight as they 

 wheeled outward ; the wing s])eculums of the ducks 

 flashed like mirrors. Yet with all the uproar and 



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