10 THE HOME-LIFE OF 



the poor drenched young Spoonbills regarded it very 

 differently, and besides being terrified by the thunder 

 and lightning, they seemed almost stunned by the hail, 

 and for the first time since I had known them, squeaked, 

 or rather, wheezed, piteously in a low key. But " it's an 

 ill wind that blows nobody any good," and before long 

 some Spoonbills came flying laboriously over the reeds, 

 apparently finding flight no easy matter in the storm. 

 They circled round once or twice, and then I heard again 

 the swish and beating close at hand of a bird poising itself 

 before alighting, and in another instant had the intense 

 satisfaction of seeing my bird drop quietly on to her nest. 

 The thought of those miserable dripping youngsters 

 had driven fear and caution from her mind, and in her 

 anxiety she never even glanced in the direction of the 

 camera. But what a different bird now stood before 

 me from that which had left six hours before ! The graceful 

 plume-like crest now stuck out awkwardly from behind her 

 head, and the smooth, silky plumage was now aU angular 

 and matted. The whole manner of the bird was in 

 keeping with her dishevelled plumage. The alert and 

 graceful carriage was of the past, and in its place had 

 come a cowed, not to say dejected, expression. The 

 bill and legs alone looked right ; in fact, their colour 

 and the corrugations of the former were emphasized 

 in the glistening wet. Then rousing herself with an 

 effort, she gave a vigorous shake and stepped astride 

 the chicks, and half dropping her wings and bending 

 her long legs, she crouched over them (Plate 7). 



For a time the youngsters were too miserable to acknow- 

 ledge her coming, but gradually, since no more hail or 

 cold rain reached them, they bestirred themselves. Nor 

 did they seem satisfied with the protection she afforded 

 them, but rising on their tottering legs tried to nestle 

 their heads into her soft plumage. But whether it was 

 that she did not like their little cold wet heads poking in 

 her stomach, or that she thought she could serve them 



