THE ARTIST AND THK BIRD 



For the man who has the patience and love of 

 Nature to wait and watch, birds will be found to 

 provide a series of constant surprises. If he has 

 the executive power of the artist as well, a vast 

 field of interesting labour is throw^n open to him. 

 If he is attracted by colour mainly, although it 

 may be true that the tropics supply a more 

 dazzling variety, none the less he will find hues 

 in every home-land wood and glade which will 

 test his skill to the utmost. Leaving the pheasant 

 and kingfisher aside, there are refinements and 

 harmonies of colouring on every hand that the 

 gaudiest species often lack. The black-blue 

 gleam on the wing of the swallow as it darts past 

 in the sunshine, the delicate pencilling of the 

 sandpiper, or the mottling of the golden plover, 

 are examples of what may be described as the 

 beauty of the unobtrusive ; and the feathers of 

 the snipe or of the grey wagtail (to take two 

 species at haphazard) are colour schemes exquisite 

 alike in tone, variety, and arrangement. 



On the side of form, it has been claimed that 

 England possesses one of the most graceful birds 

 in existence in the heron. The flamingo, although 

 a large flock rising with dazzling white and 

 scarlet plumes glancing in the sun has been de- 

 scribed as one of the most striking sights in the 

 whole range of bird life, is in itself badly pro- 

 portioned. The stork, again, is too thickly-set 

 to be an emblem of grace ; but the heron, with its 

 peculiar lithe slenderness of form, charms the 

 artistic sense to an extent only equalled, it may 

 be, by the exquisitely curving lines of the swan. 



Another interesting point about birds is the 

 way in which they seem to harmonise with and 

 become a part of their surroundings. No sea 

 picture w^ould be complete without the gulls 

 describing their sweeping curves over the waves ; 



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