76 KNOWING BIRDS THROUGH STORIES 



boy was to allow him a play time as well. Consequently 

 after lunch at noon we often went down to the creek where 

 mother told stories of the wonders of her childhood days 

 in the mountains of Tennessee. 



Sometimes I would wade down the creek and leave 

 mother sitting on the bank. It was on one such occasion 

 that I first saw what to me was the queerest looking bird 

 I had ever seen. About fifty feet from the old swimming 

 hole was a very peculiar knoll about forty feet in diameter 

 that was so very symmetrical that I am now inclined to 

 think it was a mound of the prehistoric mound builders. 

 In fact, I have made up my mind that the first -time I get 

 back to the old home, I am going to dig into this mound 

 and find whether it is a prehistoric mound or just a knoU. 

 A few feet from this mound was a small round pool about 

 the size of the mound itself. This pool was always full 

 of poll}'wogs, crawfish, and small minnows. As it never 

 went dry, minnows that found themselves stranded there 

 after the creek had overflowed its banks could always 

 find plenty to eat until an opportunity came to leave dur- 

 ing the next high water. This bird was standing on one 

 foot at the edge of this pool, as immovable as a stick. 



The first thing that attracted my attention was his very 

 long, slender legs and his even longer slender neck. His 

 bill, too, was long and pointed, and he wore a crest on the 

 back of his head that stuck out like a plume. As the sun- 

 light flashed over him he showed wonderful shades of green 

 and purple, but when a cloud came over the sun his head 

 and wings and back appeared almost black. It was by 

 the merest accident that I noticed him before he saw me, 

 and curiosity coupled with a knowledge of the wildlings, 

 led me to stand perfectly still and watch him. I do not 



