314 Favorite Haunts of Fish, 



to and fro. Often several different species are bath- 

 ing together. The wagtails, of course, are there. 

 The wagtail wades into the water and stands there. 

 Sometimes he has the appearance of scraping the 

 bottom with his feet, as if to find food. Blackbirds 

 are especially fond of this spot, and may be seen 

 coming to it from the adjacent hedges. They like 

 water, and frequently feed near it ; a blackbird may 

 often be found under the great hawthorn bushes which 

 overhang the stream. Hawks may be seen occa- 

 sionally following the course of the brook or perched 

 on the trees that grow near ; they are doubtless 

 aware of the partiality for water shown by so many 

 birds. 



The fish have their own favorite places, as the birds 

 in the hedge, and after leaving the hatch there are 

 none for some distance. Then -the brook suddenly 

 curves and forms a loop, returning almost upon itself 

 something like the letter &. The tongue of land thus 

 enclosed is broad at the top, and but two or three 

 yards across at the bottom. There the current on 

 either side is for ever endeavoring to eat away the 

 narrow neck, and forms two deep pools. Some few 

 piles have been driven in on one side to check the 

 process of disintegration, and a willow-tree overhangs 

 the pool there. By lying on the grass and quietly 

 looking over the brink, the roach may be seen swim- 

 ming in the deeper part, and where it shallows up 

 stream is a perch waiting for what may come down. 

 Where the water runs slowly on account of a little 

 bay, there in semi-darkness under the banks on the 

 mud are a few tench. 



There are several jacks not far off; but, though 



