CHAP. TWENTY-FOUR MIGRATION 



up when seen feeding, having previously concealed your- 

 self in the direction of their course. 



It is useless shooting at them when coming towards you, 

 and the best chance of killing them is either to allow them 

 to pass before you fire, or, just as they are over your head, 

 by jumping up and showing yourself, you may make them 

 turn off to the right and left, in this way affording a fair 

 chance to your shot,which easily penetrates them when fly- 

 ing straight away. 



When in the water, a wild swan is not easy to kill, unless 

 hit in the head or neck, as they swim very flat and low, and 

 their feathers sit so close that shot will scarcely penetrate 

 unless you can fire from above the birds. 



I once winged a wild swan, who fell intoa largeand deep 

 loch. The rest of the birds flew away towards another piece 

 of water about a mile off". I had no retriever with me, but 

 profiting by the advice of my keeper, instead of attempting 

 to get at the bird in any way, I took a circuit, keeping my- 

 self concealed, towards the line of flight taken by the rest 

 of the flock. The winged bird, after swimming about un- 

 easily for a short time, seeing no enemy at hand,and finding 

 that her companions did not return, went to the edge of the 

 water, and having taken a careful survey of the country a- 

 round, scrambled out, and commenced a journey after them 

 on terra firma. I allowed her to walk some distance from 

 the loch, and then running up, cut her off from returning to 

 it. As soon as she saw me she made over a hillock in their 

 line of flight ; I ran up, and not seeing her, tracked her a 

 little way in the sand, and presently found her lying stretch- 

 ed out flat on the ground amongst some longgrass,endeav- 

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