128 FIFTEEN DAYS ON THE DANUBE. 



feathers after feeding. He had therefore begged Count 

 Chotek to get a little hiding-place of boughs hastily rigged 

 up as well as was possible, and to have a kid exposed as a 

 bait for the birds of prey. He expected great results from 

 this enterprise, and we were all curious to see how he would 

 succeed. 



Homeyer intended to devote the whole day to the smaller 

 species of birds, and at the same time to rest a little. He 

 meant to stroll about the vineyards and outlying hills close to 

 our steamer, while Bombelles wished to return to the nest 

 which had been supposed to belong to a vulture and to try 

 his luck afresh. 



My brother-in-law and I, each in his own cart, drove off 

 one behind the other in the same direction. At first our way 

 led us up-stream, along what was called a highroad, but 

 which was really a badly ballasted rough construction, no 

 better than a country by-road. On this south bank of the 

 Danube the .slopes descending towards the river on our right 

 were formed by some meadows, and the hillsides rising on 

 our left were decked with vineyards and a few fruit-trees in 

 splendid bloom. By the roadside I noticed numbers of 

 Greenfinches, Corn-Buntings, Wagtails, Red-backed Shrikes, 

 and various Warblers, and on the meadows also some Green 

 Woodpeckers and Wrynecks. 



After a good half-hour's drive we reached a village, where 

 on our left a deep valley bounded by treeless slopes led 

 towards the interior of the country. There we separated, my 

 brother-in-law going a good way further on before turning 

 into the next valley, while I passed through the village and 

 drove on towards the Fruska-Gora by a very rough road, 

 which ran by the side of a little mountain-brook, and con- 

 ducted me to the very verge of the woods. I passed through 

 a charming district of meadows, vineyards, isolated little 

 patches of rock, and steep loamy slopes covered with almond 



