i8o BIRDS OF THE PLAINS 



secure the maximum of rain. All round there is ample 

 shelter ; there are numerous ledges, outhouses, and 

 verandahs, in any of which the crows could obtain 

 shelter if they desired it. Shelter? Not a bit of it, 

 they revel in the rain. 



Two pied wagtails fly by, chasing one another glee- 

 fully in the pouring rain ; they too are regular " wet 

 bobs." 



On the telegraph wires hard by the king-crows sit 

 with their tails projecting horizontally so as to catch 

 as much of the downpour as possible. The dragon-flies 

 are seeking their prey regardless of the rain ; this is 

 somewhat surprising, when we consider that to them a 

 drop of rain must bear about the same relation as a 

 glass of water does to a human being. As they are 

 hunting, it is obvious that the minute creatures on which 

 they feed must also be out in the rain, although every 

 drop contains quite sufficient water in which to drown 

 them. 



The mortality of small insects in a heavy fall of 

 rain must be enormous. What a strange sight a shower 

 must look to an insect ! Each drop must seem like a 

 waterspout. 



Are tiny insects aware that the falling drops are 

 fraught with danger to them ? Do they attempt to 

 dodge them ? I think not. They can know nothing 

 of death or of the danger of drowning. They probably 

 fly about as usual in the rain in blissful ignorance of the 

 harm that threatens them. Some escape unscathed, but 

 others less fortunate are overwhelmed as in a flood, and 

 in a few minutes their little spark of life is extinguished. 



