Idle Days. 



they skulk from notice, how much more so to observe 

 them disporting themselves without fear or restraint, 

 unconscious of any intrusive presence ! Yet such 

 observation only satisfies the naturalist, and when 

 obtained it amply repays the silence, the watching, 

 and the waiting it costs. In some cases the oppor- 

 tunities are so rare that whilst they are being sought, 

 and without ever actually occurring, the observer day 

 by d av grows more familiar with the manners of the 

 wild creatures that still succeed in eluding his sight. 

 Now the little cock (Rhinocrypa lanceolata), an 

 amusing bird that lives on the ground, carries its 

 tail erect and looks wonderfully like a very small 

 bantam, has spied me, and, full of alarm, utters his 

 loud chirrup from an adjacent bush. Gently I steal 

 towards him, careful to tread on the sand, then peer 

 cautiously into the foliage. For a few moments he 

 scolds me with loud, emphatic tones, and then is 

 silent. Fancying him still in the same place, I walk 

 about the bush many times, striving to catch sight 

 of him. Suddenly the loud chirrup is resumed in 

 a bush a stone's-throw away; and soon, getting 

 tired of this game of hide-and-seek, in which the 

 bird has all the fun and I all the seeking, I give it 

 up and ramble on. 



Then, perhaps, the measured, deep, percussive 

 tones of the subterranean Ctenomys, well named 

 oculto in the vernacular, resound within a dozen 

 yards of my feet. So near and loud do they sound, 

 I am convinced the shy little rodent has ventured 

 for a moment to visit the sunshine. I might 



K 2 



