82 FIFTEEN DAYS ON THE DANUBE. 



melancholy Black Storks within a small radius. I care- 

 fully approached the first ; and when I had got under the 

 tree I told the forester to frighten out the bird. But all his 

 efforts to do so were vain ; so, slinging my gun, I left the 

 place, and had hardly got forty paces from the nest when I 

 saw the lazy bird sitting quietly on its eggs. 



On seeing us it slowly rose, and a shot buried it within its 

 dwelling. A few moments afterwards a large male came 

 flying pretty high above the trees, and a snap shot luckily 

 winged it so that it fell, crashing through the branches, and 

 plumped down close beside us. 



The neighbouring nests were empty, for the parent birds, 

 frightened by the shots and concerned about their broods, 

 were circling anxiously round. I therefore left the place, 

 and, returning to the cart, we drove along another broad ride 

 to the spot where I had killed my first stork about an hour ago. 



As we rattled over the turf at a fast trot, one of these 

 great marsh-birds flew over the cart. I fired and hit it, but 

 unfortunately not hard enough to kill the tough fellow, and, 

 though it sank slowly down to the wood, we soon lost sight 

 of it. 



A short drive brought us close to the nests which I had 

 previously visited. Here we frightened a Black Stork out of 

 its dwelling, and it fell dead at my first shot ; but remained 

 so tightly jammed between the branches of a young beech 

 that we again had to cut down the tree, and at this disturb- 

 ance all the other storks left their nests and cruised about 

 overhead out of range. 



The forester now suggested that we should visit a rather 

 distant part of the wood, for though he only knew of a kite's 

 nest there, he thought the drive would well repay me, as the 

 way to it passed through the densest part of the forest, and 

 there would be a good chance of seeing roe, or even red 

 deer. 



