83S THE NATURALIST. 



Ardea cinerea descending abruptly on noiseless wing. As he nears 

 the water he checks his speed, and drops into it knee deep, scarcely 

 disturbing its placidity. Sedately he wades through the shallows, and at 

 last remains stationary near to a shelving rock, intently watching a trout, 

 which not being poss3ssed of a discriminating sight, swims unconcious 

 of its danger almost within his reach. But we have now been one hour 

 in our cache, and we find the sun is just dipping behind a blue and misty 

 hill in the west. This we know to be the hour that Lutra vulgaris leaves 

 his lair, and we now gaze intently down the labyrinth of rocks and trees, 

 from whence we expect him to make his appearance, and at length we 

 hear a shrill whistle nm unli. e the cry of Falco tinnunciilus. It 

 is the call of an otter. Near and still nearer, the weird-like sound 

 approaches us, and now it seems to emanate from our very feet, 

 and yet we have not seen the author of the sound, with such 

 consummate skill and ease has the animal glided unperceived up stream 

 towards us — cautiously we peer through the interstices of branches, when 

 an almost imperceptible movement in the water, close to a large flat rock 

 crossing out from the banks attracts our attention, and now at last we 

 catch a sight of the tawny muzzle of our visitor. He hisses loudly like an 

 enraged cat and from this we conjecture that he is either aware of our close 

 proximity or that a companion is near at hand. Happily the latter is the 

 case, for see, he bounds or rather glides over the rock and disappears like 

 an ignis fatuus on the other side of it : but scarcely has he been submerged 

 when a second appears and follows after the first, and the next instant we 

 see them together in the middle of the stream, stemming the rapid current 

 and breaking the foam hills amid the eddies in an exciting chase, now 

 one is the pursued, and vice versa the next instant is the pursuer — now 

 they leap simultaneously out of the water, snapping at each other as they 

 plunge back into it, and the next instant are out of sight threading their 

 circuitous course along the bottom, as we can see by the chain of air 

 bubbles rising to the surface, and re-appear here and there for respiration. 

 For a moment they desist and float quiescently down the current to a 

 rock, on which they climb, and raising themselves erect on hinder legs 

 they caressingly rub themselves against each other, the while perchance 

 shewing their teeth in mock hostility. Now they utter a semi-defiant 

 challenge for a renewal of their exciting play, when they meet to all 

 appearance in a combat " to the death," and together they roll down into 

 the water and down to the bottom of the stream, their soft and suj)ple 



