158 WASTE-LAND WANDERINGS. 



in water about three inclies deep, and at every step ap- 

 peared to lift one foot quite above the surface and curl 

 up the toes; then taking as great a stride as possible, 

 plunged the foot, with the toes still curled, into the wa- 

 ter. At every third or fourth stej), tlie bird stopped 

 and thrust its bill beneath the surface, and I suppose, 

 judging from the subsequent motion, secured some mor- 

 sel of food. While I watched, the bird appeared to be 

 feeding only uj)on objects found on the bottom of the 

 pool, and not at all from the rank vegetation that skirted 

 the shores. 



It had also another curious habit. At almost every 

 other step the head would be thrown back until the 

 occiput rested upon the shoulders, and at the same mo- 

 ment the wings were lifted slightly, as though the bird 

 was about to fly. 



At length, much to my annoyance, it was alarmed by 

 a noisy troop of crows that swooped down near by, and 

 flying directly over me, discovered my retreat. There 

 was no reason to think it would ever return, so I shot it. 



The purple gallinule, sometimes met with on the 

 Crosswicks meadows, is quite as rare as the preceding ; 

 but their recurrence nearer the sea-coast has been fre- 

 quently recorded, nor are they always found during the 

 summer months. 



I should be glad to know why this stream is so crook- 

 ed. The alluvial flats through which it flows are very 

 uniform in their composition ; and unless lodged trees, 

 borne hither and thither by freshets, have been the cause, 

 there is nothing to show why the creek is not almost a 



