Pigskins and Dowitchers 249 



speed diminished and die birds gave the last smoothing with 

 the soft side of the head. This done, they started feeding. 

 Their movements awoke their companion. Was the bath 

 preliminary to the resumption of feeding after the nap? If 

 bathing was the rule, the third bird did not observe it. 



Before leaving I again tried to discover if any particular 

 kind of noises disturbed them. Increasingly noisy raps ( made 

 within reason) had no effect. They looked up quickly but 

 did not appear alarmed when I whistled; they disregarded 

 hissing sounds and notes which I fondly thought might re- 

 semble the cry of an owl. I could have stood up in the canoe 

 and waved my arms, but I felt that I had been treated as an 

 old friend who had been tried and found without evil inten- 

 tions toward them. Touched by this display of confidence, I 

 prepared to leave. The stadium was now as empty as it had 

 been when I arrived in the morning. I looked once more for 

 the mallard hen and chicks but they were nowhere to be 

 seen. 



My departure caused no excitement. The birds were evi- 

 dently still hungry, for as the canoe slipped off the bar and I 

 dipped my paddle, I saw them again pushing their long bills 

 into the soft ooze of the bottom. 



. •****.,... 



