A WOOD BY THE SEA 63 



twenty or twenty-five minutes, during which he made 

 not the slightest motion. Then a blackbird shot out 

 from the wood, passing over my head, and flew straight 

 out over the marsh, and, following it with my glasses, 

 I saw it pitch on the bush near which the pheasant was 

 standing. The pheasant instantly put up his head ; 

 the blackbird then flew down to him, and immediately 

 both birds began moving about in search of food, the 

 pheasant stepping quietly over the sward, pecking as 

 he went ; the blackbird making his quick little runs, 

 now to this side, then to that, then on ahead and at 

 intervals running back to the other. Presently the 

 sudden near loud cry of a carrion-crow flying to the 

 wood startled the blackbird, and he rushed away to the 

 bush, where he remained perched for about a minute ; 

 the other was not startled, but he at once left off feed- 

 ing and stood motionless, patiently waiting till his com- 

 panion returned to him, and they went on as before. 

 The pheasant now discovered something to his taste, 

 and for several minutes remained still, pecking rapidly 

 at the same spot, the other running about in quest of 

 worms until he found and succeeded in pulling one out 

 and spent some time over it ; then came back again 

 to the pheasant. 



During all this time I could not detect any other 

 birds from the wood, not even a thrush that feeds latest, 

 on all the marsh ; they were all at roost, and it was 

 impossible not to believe that these two were friends, 

 accustomed to meet at that spot and feed together ; 

 that when I first spied the pheasant, standing in that 



