SECOND DAY. 17 
their breasts lit up: by the sun, they looked like bright stars, 
while others were slowly wheeling about not far above the 
trees, and stretching out their long necks to examine the 
ground below. 
When the strong gusts of wind that precede a downpour 
of rain turned up the leaves, the trees shone like silver, the 
meadows displayed their freshest green, the reeds in the river 
bent, rustling to the wind, and the little wavelets went 
dancing over the water. Beyond the opposite bank stretched 
the broad plains, partly in sunlight and partly shadowed by 
the swiftly passing clouds. To our front was a bushy wood, 
the dead leafless elms, and a little arm of the river covered 
with fresh green sedge ; and on our left the bank of the island, 
the main stream, and further off the grey-green woods. 
The east was clear, with a deep blue sky only broken by 
white clouds gleaming in the warmest light of the midday 
sun ; but in the south-west towered up a wall of black clouds, 
from which the wind seemed to detach larger and smaller 
ball-like masses and roll them towards us. 
Some heavy drops of rain fell as we were hurrying along 
to the colony of Cormorants, for we had to make haste, 
Apatin, the goal of our day’s journey, being still a very long 
way off, and the hours had flown quickly by on this interesting 
island of Adony. However, we thought it would be a pity 
to leave this colony quite undisturbed, not knowing whether 
we should come across another breeding-place of these 
birds during our trip. The trees on which they had built 
were very tall, and although I already knew a good deal 
about this species, having often observed and killed it at 
the nest; I had never before seen their dwellings placed at 
such a height. 
There were four or five of these trees, on each of which we 
found some seven or eight Cormorants’ nests, and among 
them those of a few Hooded Crows; and though the birds 
c 
