206 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS. 



among the rushes, all brown and dead, and swaying 

 mournfully in the wind,, growing round a half- 

 frozen pool, say just as the sun is dipping behind 

 a mass of crimson cloud this would form a 

 subject true to life in every detail, grandly effective, 

 and portraying Nature as she is, and how she may 

 be seen on any day in midwinter by the artist who 

 cares to make the observation. 



Let not the artist rest content with British birds; 

 there are plenty more beyond the seas even better 

 adapted to his treatment. A study of Vultures in 

 the desert ; Ostriches being stalked by some of 

 the large carnivora ; Storks in the meadows, or 

 standing on the masonry of temples and mosques ; 

 Pelicans, Flamingoes, and a host of others, all 

 remarkably effective. Again, what artist has yet 

 portrayed the glorious dress of the Humming 

 Birds, the metallic splendours of the Sun Birds, the 

 rich and loricated hues of the Birds of Paradise, 

 and a hundred others equally grand, effective, and 

 beautiful ? Want of space prevents me going into 

 further details of this branch of the subject, but I 

 trust sufficient has been said to call the artist's 

 attention to many birds hitherto beyond his 

 notice. 



The mention of Humming Birds brings me to 



