BROWSINGS IN OTHER FIELDS. 237 
trill of a white-throated sparrow, sounding like the 
music of an angel amid a tumult of imps. 
Near the centre of the garden there is a long 
pond enclosed by wire fencing, and on and about 
this pond is to be found an interesting group of 
water-fowls. There was a large bluish-colored crane 
with a ruff of feathers about his head. A workman 
came along and snapped his fingers at the bird, 
which hopped and leaped about and almost turned 
a somersault. A great blue heron had made a nest 
of sticks and twigs on the bare bank of the pond, 
and was sitting on two eggs. While I was watching 
her, she rose slowly on her long stilts, stretched out 
her stiffened wings, rearranged the sticks with her 
bill, and then sat down on her eggs again, turning 
them under her breast. What an opportunity fora 
bird student if day by day he could have watched 
her build her nest and rear her young! 
Swimming about on the pond like a couple of 
feathered craft were two great white pelicans with 
long bills and elevated wings. A tuft of feathers or 
bristles grew on the top of their upper mandibles. 
They seemed to be guying each other, or probably 
were engaged ina real naval battle; for they pur- 
sued each other around and around, engaged in 
various martial movements and counter-movements, 
and every now and then clashed together their great 
beaks like two men fencing with swords. But they 
avoided close contact. How lightly and smoothly 
they glided about on the water! 
Standing on a platform on the other side of the 
