SECOND DAY. 17 



their breasts lit up by the sun, they looked like bright stars, 

 while others were slowly wheeling about not far above the 

 trees, and stretching out their long necks to examine the 

 ground below. 



When the strong gusts of wind that precede a downpour 

 of rain turned up the leaves, the trees shone like silver, the 

 meadows displayed their freshest green, the reeds in the river 

 bent, rustling to the wind, and the little wavelets went 

 dancing over the water. Beyond the opposite bank stretched 

 the broad plains, partly in sunlight and partly shadowed by 

 the swiftly passing clouds. To our front was a bushy wood, 

 the dead leafless elms, and a little arm of the river covered 

 with fresh green sedge ; and on our left the bank of the island, 

 the main stream, and further off the grey-green woods. 

 The east was clear, with a deep blue sky only broken by 

 white clouds gleaming in the warmest light of the midday 

 sun ; but in the south-west towered up a wall of black clouds, 

 from which the wind seemed to detach larger and smaller 

 ball-like masses and roll them towards us. 



Some heavy drops of rain fell as we were hurrying along 

 to the colony of Cormorants, for we had to make haste, 

 Apatin, the goal of our day's journey, being still a very long 

 way off, and the hours had flown quickly by on this interesting 

 island of Adony. However, we thought it would be a pity 

 to leave this colony quite undisturbed, not knowing whether 

 we should come across another breeding-place of these 

 birds during our trip. The trees on w r hich they had built 

 were very tall, and although I already knew a good deal 

 about this species, having often observed and killed it at 

 the nest, I had never before seen their dwellings placed at 

 such a height. 



There were four or five of these trees, on each of which we 

 found some seven or eight Cormorants' nests, and among 

 them those of a few Hooded Crows ; and though the birds 



c 



