— --lit tr~i--' . r -x 







SLENDKR I.ORIS. 



Small thougli it be, and apparently without the power to liarm, it is a terrible 

 enemy to tlic birds and insects on which its feeds. 



Night, wlien the birds are resting with their heads snugly sheltered by their 

 soft feathers, is the time when the Loris awakes from its daily slumbers, and 

 stealthily sets forth on its search. Its large round eyes blaze in the dusky gloom 

 like two balls of phosphorescent fire, and by the eyes alone can its presence be 

 known. Its movements are so slow and silent, that not a sound falls on the car 

 to indicate the ])resence of a living animal. 



Alas for the doomed bird that has attracted the fiery eyes of the Loris ! With 

 movements as imperceptible and as silent as the shadow on the dial, paw after 

 paw is lifted from its hold, advanced a step and placed again on the bough, until 

 the destroyer stands by the side of the imconscious victim. Then, the hand is 

 raised with equal silence, until the fingers overhang the bird and nearly 

 touch it. Suddenly, the slow caution is exchanged for lightning speed, and 

 with a movement so rapid that the eye can hardly follow it, the bird is torn from 

 its perch, and almost before its eyes are opened from slumber, they are closed for 

 ever in death. 



;'.'< 



