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still, and keeping both eyes and ears open. This will not 

 generally succeed with wild fowl, except perhaps with the 

 mergansers, the wood duck, the harlequin, and possibly a few 

 others. 



I once sat on a stone on the shore of the diminutive harbor 

 of an island off the coast of British Columbia, and watched a 

 flock of harlequin ducks swim around a little headland and 

 come almost to my feet. Here the ''lords and ladies," the 

 handsomest of all sea ducks, played about for some time, 

 showing off their plumage, throwing the sparkling drops from 

 crest and wing; but at my first movement they beat the water 

 into foam, sweeping away in a frenzy of affright. 



Most river ducks cannot be deceived in this way. They will 

 fly at first sight of man, so the observer must be well concealed. 

 But all wood birds, both shy and rare, may be outgeneraled by 

 the quiet sitter. They seem to wonder what, manner of thing 

 this is that looks so like a man, but neither smokes nor swears, 

 talks, laughs, nor tramps about. Slowly they draw near and 

 peer at the curiosity, and finally they apparently conclude it to 

 be harmless, and go about their usual avocations. 



While I have been writing this in the Concord woods a bright 

 scarlet tanager has sung and hopped about for ten minutes on 

 some branches about fifteen feet away, on a level with my face. 

 A red-shouldered hawk has alighted on a limb five feet from the 

 ground and seven paces away; two jays have chased a pair of 

 red squirrels through the nearest tree; a black-throated green 

 warbler has come to a branch just above my head and peered 

 into my face; a black-billed cuckoo has surveyed me from all 

 sides. The other day a sharp-shinned hawk swept up the hill 

 and alighted on a limb before my cabin. He scanned the 

 ground, the trees, the bushes by the river shore; but every 

 little terror-stricken songster crouched concealed. Then the 

 hawk caught the movement of my eyelid, sprang upon the air 

 and swiftly glided downward and away, as noiselessly as he had 

 come. Even the astute and wary crow will forget in time his 

 characteristic caution, and indulge his curiosity enough to alight 

 near by and scan the intruder nervously. 



