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day. It was but another illustration of a theory of Darwin and 

 Wallace, — the survival of the fittest. Necessity knows no 

 law but that of self-preservation. Still, if the ethics of the case 

 are considered, no doubt the bird had the prior right to occupy 

 that slough. Since then I have seen the great white heron, 

 the great blue heron, the great white egret, the bald eagle, 

 and several species of wild fowl manifest their curiosity in a 

 similar way. 



It is difficult for most birds to understand the meaning of a 

 silent human figure lying prone and half concealed. While so 

 reclining I have been closely approached by eagles and vultures. 

 It is said that the fox sometimes will attract wild ducks within 

 leaping distance by allowing its tail and back to show a little as 

 it plays about in the long grass on the shore. A concealed 

 hunter sometimes will attract wild fowl toward the shore by 

 waving a red rag on the end of a stick, or by using a small dog 

 trained to gambol in the grass. 



Birds come to the silent sitter. 



There are easier and pleasanter ways, however, of attracting 

 the shy birds of the woods. "Nessmuk" says that there is an 

 art which outflanks all wild animals, — the art of sitting on a 

 log. This sylvan necromancy consists of sitting absolutely 



