LITTLE RED HERON 109 



fear, and, placing my hand on the point of its beak, 

 forced the head down till it touched the back ; when 

 I withdrew my hand up flew the head, like a steel 

 spring, to its first position. I repeated the experiment 

 many times with the same result, the very eyes of 

 the bird appearing all the time rigid and unwinking 

 like those of a creature in a fit. What wonder that 

 it is so difficult, almost impossible, to discover the 

 bird in such an attitude ! But how happened it that 

 while repeatedly walking round the bird through 

 the rushes I had not caught sight of the striped back 

 and the broad dark-coloured sides i I asked myself 

 this question, and stepped round to get a side view, 

 when, mirabile dictu, I could still see nothing but 

 the rush-like front of the bird ! His motions on the 

 perch, as he turned slowly or quickly round, still 

 keeping the edge of the blade-like body before me, 

 corresponded so exactly with my own that I almost 

 doubted that I had moved at all. No sooner had I 

 seen the finishing part of this marvellous instinct 

 of self-preservation (this last act making the whole 

 complete) than such a degree of delight and admiration 

 possessed me as I have never before experienced 

 during my researches, much as I have conversed with 

 wild animals in the wilderness, and many and perfect 

 as are the instances of adaptation I have witnessed. 

 I could not finish admiring, and thought that never 

 had anything so beautiful fallen in my way before ; 

 for even the sublime cloud-seeking instinct of the 

 White Egret and the typical Herons seemed less 

 admirable than this ; and for some time I continued 



