LIVING CREATURES. 



build nests in trees. How the ducklings reach the 

 ground is not known. Of tree-nesting geese, the Rev. 

 Gilbert White, of Selborne, England, who spent forty 

 years in studying animals, says : 



"The geese in Richmond Park do roost on trees 

 and make their nests in old oaks, conveying their 

 young to the ground under their wings. All this be- 

 cause, when they made their nests on the ground, the 



water-rats destroyed 

 their eggs." This be- 

 ing true, it is but just 

 to add that this bird 

 is not half so much of 

 a "goose" as people 

 generally suppose. 



Does the swan ever 

 sing? Pliny says, 

 when about to die the 

 swan retires and sings 

 most sweetly. Ben 

 Jonson called his 

 friend Shakespeare 

 the ' ' sweet swan of 

 King penguin. Avon. " Sharp eyes 



and ears spoil the old fables. The swan never sings. 

 It is worth little except for its beauty. 



The loon, the guillemot, and the penguin are more 

 thoroughly water birds than is the duck. Their bills 

 are differently shaped because their food is fish. The 

 loon, called also the great northern diver, is the prince 

 of all divers. It will dodge a close shot. It is, how- 

 ever, "as stupid as a loon," for a bright-colored flag 



