BY MILL- POND AND MEADOW. 155 



tal strength, and all that I say may go for nothing ; so 

 let us turn to another subject If you try your acute- 

 ness of vision by looking for minnows where a king- 

 fisher appears to see them, you will wonder what sort 

 of eyes the bird has. Your experience will be that 

 when the little silvery shiners do show themselves, it 

 is but for an instant, a mere flash of light and they 

 are gone ; but in the black pool at the foot of the 

 dam, where so little sunlight falls, as well as in the 

 broad, open waters of the pond, the kingfisher singles 

 out the victim that is invisible to us, and generally 

 secures it. I have varied the point of view and 

 brought all manner of artificial aid to my eyesight, 

 a "water-telescope" alone excepted, without being 

 able to see to any depth into the pond, and have 

 utterly failed to solve the secret of the kingfisher's 

 acuteness of vision ; yet hour after hour the bird 

 will dive successfully, not failing often enough to 

 cause it to go hungry. For this reason, rather than 

 for any special attraction in voice, manner, or mark- 

 ings, the kingfisher has always been peculiarly in- 

 teresting to me. The old miller insists that I do not 

 understand them, which is very true, for who can 

 truly comprehend any bird? A proper study of 

 this bird comprises more than the details of its 

 anatomy and a knowledge of its habits. Call it what 

 we may, there is a something akin to intellectuality 

 that is recognizable, but yet beyond our grasp. The 

 miller says that the kingfishers at the mill "know" 

 him very well, and often come quite near, as if out 

 of curiosity, when he is at work at the gates. 



