76 BIRD-LIFE IN A SOUTHERN COUNTY. 



The Heron, beyond swerving from side to side, 

 took very little notice of the attack at first, but 

 the Gull was evidently in a quarrelsome mood 

 and determined not to let the challenge pass 

 unnoticed. Then commenced a series of most 

 interesting evolutions. The Gull had the advan- 

 tage perhaps in manoeuvring, but the Heron 

 certainly excelled in absolute wing-power. The 

 Heron, with ; neck drawn close in between the 

 shoulders, managed very easily to keep above 

 its antagonist ; the Gull tried to deliver an attack 

 from below, all the time endeavouring to secure 

 the uppermost position. Every now and then 

 the Gull flew for some distance away from the 

 Heron, then the two would meet again with 

 quick flappings of the wings, the swish of the 

 Heron's pinions being distinctly audible from 

 the ground below. All the time the Gull kept 

 up an incessant querulous chatter, but the Heron 

 never uttered a sound. And so the buffeting 

 fight went on for several minutes above my head, 

 until finally the two birds disappeared behind the 

 tree-clad hills. 



In the tidal reaches of the river the Kingfisher 

 may sometimes be observed, either darting along 



