THE ASIATIC STEPPES AND THEIR FAUNA. 101 



feathered tribes of three-quarters of the globe have their great 

 rendezvous, nor with the equatorial water-basins, which are thronged 

 by hundreds of thousands of birds at every season, nor even with 

 the marsh-lands of the Danube, where, all through the summer, 

 countless children of the air find rest; in proportion to the extent 

 of water in the steppes the number of winged settlers may seem 

 small, but the bird-fauna is really very considerable, and the lakes 

 of the steppes have also a certain uniqueness in regard to the nest- 

 ing-places chosen by the birds. 



Here every creature has its home among the reeds: the wolf and 

 the boar, the eagle and the wild-goose, the kite and the swan, the 

 raven and the mallard, the gadwall or teal, the thrush and the 

 white-throat, the reed-tit and the sparrow, the reed-bunting and 

 the ortolan, the willow wren and the blue-throated warbler, the 

 lesser kestrel and the red-footed falcon, the crane and the lapwing, 

 the shrike and the snipe, the starling, the yellow and white wagtails, 

 the quail and the kingfisher, the great white heron and the spoon- 

 bill, the cormorant and the pelican. The reed-thickets afford home 

 and shelter to all; they take the place of woods in affording hiding 

 and security; in their retreats the secrets of love are told, and the 

 joys of family life are expressed, exuberant rejoicings are uttered, 

 and the tenderest cares are fulfilled; they are the cradles and the 

 schools of the young. 



Of the mammals which congregate among the reeds one usually 

 sees only the tracks, provided, of course, that one does not resort to 

 forceful measures and ransack the thicket with dogs. Of the flitting 

 bird-life, however, in its general features at least, the practised eye 

 of the naturalist may at any time obtain a lively picture. 



When we leave the dry steppes and approach a lake, the 

 widely-distributed larks disappear, and their place is taken by the 

 plovers, whose plaintive cries fall mournfully on the ear. One of 

 them may be seen running by fits and starts along the ground, with 

 the characteristic industry of its race, stopping here and there to 

 pick up some minute booty, and then running off again as swiftly 

 as ever. Before we reach the reeds we see the black-headed gulls, 

 probably also the common gulls, and, in favourable circumstances, 



