Pond Life 
ponds of the London parks, where they 
feel so safe and protected that they lay 
aside much of their timidity, so necessary 
to their very existence in more exposed 
places. Here you may watch them 
running over the grass, when you can 
see the red garters round their green legs, 
and you may watch the use they make 
of their long, slender toes, for they are 
often to be seen running nimbly over the 
broad floating leaves of the water-lilies, 
accompanied by their brood, snapping at 
the gnats and insects, and darting hither 
and thither in every direction wherever 
they can spy anything good to eat. 
When swimming these birds have a 
habit of nodding their heads, which are 
ornamented with a patch of brilliant red 
on the forehead like sealing wax. With 
every stroke of their feet they nod their 
103 . 
