Pond Life 
its shape is not graceful, nor its position 
and attitude. Sometimes I have seen it 
thus, and thought that the bird looked 
quite ungainly and awkward. But it is 
a most clever fisher. After standing 
motionless for a long time, and looking 
intently in the water, it dives off head 
foremost and plunges under the water, 
nearly always succeeding in catching 
whatever it was after. Then it returns to 
the same perch, or flies off to another, 
and taking the small fish it has caught 
by the tail end, it bangs it against the 
branch or post as hard as it can several 
times, until it appears to be quite smashed 
up and limp. Itis then jerked upwards, 
and swallowed head first. If the bird 
has a nest somewhere in the neighbour- 
hood, it will fly off with its prey to feed 
its young ones. These are hungrily 
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