A WOOD BY THE SEA 6i 



head, rising liighcr and higher in Ihc darkening sky, 

 then hcgan streaming away over the wood to settle 

 linally at another spot about half a mile away; and to 

 that new roosting-placc tlu-y returned on subsequent 

 evenings. 



It was a curious thing to have witnessed, for one does 

 not think of this bird — "Hilarion's servant, the sage 

 Crow" — as a nervous creature, subject to needless 

 alarms ; but a few evenings later I was so fortunate as 

 to witness something even more interesting. In this 

 instance a pheasant was the chief actor, a species the 

 field naturalist is apt to look askance at because it is a 

 coddled species and the coddling process has incidentally 

 produced a disastrous effect on our native wild-bird life. 

 Once we rid our minds of these unfortunate associa- 

 tions we recognize that this stranger in our woods is 

 not only of a splendid appearance, but has that which 

 is infinitely more than fine feathers — the intelligent spirit, 

 the mind, that is in a bird. 



On a November evening I came out of the wood to 

 a nice sheltered spot by the side of a dyke fringed with 

 sedges and yellow reeds, and the wide green marsh 

 spread out before me. There are many pheasants in 

 the wood, whicli are accustomed to feed by day on the 

 marsh or meadow^ lands; now I watched them coming 

 in, flying and running, filling the wood with noise as 

 they settled in their roosting-trees, clucking and crow- 

 ing. In a little while they grew quiet, and I thought 

 that all were at home and abed; but presently, while 

 sweeping the level green expanse with my glasses, I 



