52 ECHOES OF SPORT 



of wings overhead, with the low murmuring 

 accompaniment of a mighty river far below at 

 our feet. 



Well would it be for these birds if they 

 knew the magic of their sound, as in it lies 

 their safety from me, for all that it recalls ; 

 but when pigeon comes gliding in noiselessly 

 by ones and twos, it is a different affair ; then 

 my patience, that has kept me waiting an hour 

 or two on a winter evening, either in keen, 

 frosty air or in a driving sleet or rain-storm, 

 demands its reward, and pigeon has to pay 

 toll. 



It is an absorbing occupation to wait and 

 watch for any animal or bird ; above all as to 

 do it successfully the watcher must be un- 

 observed by the watched. To come to the 

 stubbles without a small Zeiss glass is to lose 

 half the interest ; part of the fun is to watch 

 the birds through it . One learns much of their 

 wonderful instincts and quaint ways, especi- 

 ally their unerring sense of danger at the 

 slightest sound or sight of anything betoken- 

 ing the presence or approach of a foe, human 



