Water Fowl 



as he studies these varied and less familiar 

 forms of life, from that suggested by arboreal 

 birds, and his pleasurfc will be often quite as 

 keen. It can be more truly said of many of 

 this group that they are "fowls of the air" 

 than of almost all of the terrestrial sorts. Re- 

 turning from the vastness and illimitable expos- 

 ure of the seashore to the close and shady co- 

 vert of the woods, it seems sometimes as if the 

 song birds really only lived half out-of-doors. 



But the most pleasing aspect of water fowl, 

 wherein the peculiar genius of their nature is 

 clearly displayed, is in the fact that, as com- 

 pared with all other species, they are so pre- 

 eminently /«V/wrM^«^. According to the canons 

 of strict beauty, many of the woodland species 

 are doubtless far superior; but in that subtle 

 quality that makes the most effective picture, 

 the water birds are certainly incomparable; 

 and every painter, poet, and observer feels the 

 truth of this. They form a very essential part 

 of that fine atmosphere which is the climax of 

 the painter's art — suggesttveness — and are the 

 most poetic link between humanity and Nature. 



In most intimate connection with this thought 

 is the fact that the most attractive view of these 

 winged children of the sea is in their close asso- 



5S 



