5 8 Poachers and Poaching. 



it dived again, and distanced its pursuer so easily 

 that he gave over the chase and rested upon his 

 oars. But the bird made a final plunge, and 

 when it emerged upon the surface again it was 

 over a mile away. Its course must have been, 

 and doubtless was, an actual flight under water, 

 and half as fast as the crow flies in the air. The 

 loon would have delighted the old poets. Its 

 wild, demoniac laughter awakens the echoes on 

 the solitary lakes, and its ferity and hardiness 

 were kindred to those robust spirits." Another 

 specially interesting bird which does something 

 nearly approaching to flying under water is the 

 dipper. The ouzel is essentially a bird of the 

 running brook, though as to what part this pretty 

 white-breasted thrush plays in the economy of 

 nature naturalists are by no means agreed. Its 

 most frequent stand is upon some mossy stone in 

 a river reach, and here its crescented form may 

 oftenest be seen. It haunts the brightly-running 

 streams in winter as in summer, and when these 

 are transformed into roaring torrents seems to 

 love them best. Let us watch it awhile. It 

 dashes through the spray and into the white 

 foam, performing its morning ablutions. Then 

 it emerges to perch on a stone, always jerking its 

 body about, and dipping, dipping, ever dipping. 

 Presently it melts into the water like a bubble, 

 but immediately emerges to regain its seat, then 

 trills out a loud wren-like song, but, breaking 



