PICTORIAL GROUPS OF BIRDS, ETC. 403 



fully mature bird. Now for the best climber ! Lucas ran to the tree 

 and began to ascend, but, as he did so, the wounded bird rose upright 

 in the nest, and I, fearing he was but slightly hit and would get away 

 like the first, fired again from the same spot, and this time he lay 

 lifeless, half in and half out of the nest, and, as his head depended, 

 we could see his beautiful white neck plumes and long black crest. 

 Manfully struggling upward, taking advantage of every twig and every 

 hollow for the foot, the keeper got along bravely, until met midway by 

 a huge boss which, jutting out, barred his progress. In vain he tried 

 to get around it, and, coming down, confessed himself beaten. I then 

 tried myself, with less success, and, disregarding his protestations that 

 the feat of getting either bird or nest out of the tree was impossible, 

 sent him off for a long rope and more string. He was away for about 

 an hour and a half, and during that time a bird, which appeared to be 

 a female, came to the next nest to that from which the first bird had 

 been lost, and settled. Again the rifle rang out, and brought it to 

 bag — this bird, a young female, falling dead out of the tree to the 

 ground. Its mouth was full of loach, and, whilst warm, I noted the 

 colour of the eyes and soft parts, and then covered it up with my 

 overcoat, to protect it from the rain which was falling, and making 

 things so uncomfortable that it was a relief when Lucas brought the 

 lunch. After this we essayed to throw the rope over a limb of the tree 

 just above the boss, but after a few trials Lucas tired of this, and was 

 more than willing to give it up, but having by this time tied two of his 

 cartridges to a length of string, I managed, at the sixteenth throw, to 

 lodge it over the limb, and by careful manipulation got the end to the 

 ground. The rope being tied to this was drawn back slowly over the 

 limb above the boss. All was now easy climbing ; both ends of the 

 rope being made fast to the trunk close to the ground, Lucas went up 

 hand over hand, and gradually wriggled himself over the boss, and 

 rested on the fork. Here another difficulty presented itself. Just 

 above were three other Kmbs, jutting out so awkwardly as to obstruct 

 his passage, but by dint of coaxing and chaffing he was persuaded to 

 persevere, and managed, by propping himself with his back to the 

 trunk, to throw the rope, loosened from below, over the limbs above, 

 and so progressed another stage. At this juncture I sent him up a 

 little refreshment, by the aid of the weighted string he carried in his 



