72 FIFTEEN DAYS ON THE DANUBE. 
representatives of the feathered tribe, they are nevertheless 
but sparingly stocked with those species which give life to 
the scene, such as the many different kinds of warblers 
and finches, 
Our road now wound through the most charming woods, 
and I was particularly struck by a little grove of gigantic oaks 
with a thick undergrowth. It was exceedingly lovely, and 
the merry notes of its countless songsters rang out splendidly ; 
but as soon as we had left it we found ourselves quite in the 
open, for we had reached the plains. To our right were 
fields and marshes ; to our left a little stream was bearing its 
modest waters to the Danube between deeply cut banks, and 
beyond it lay another stretch of flat land. Far before us we 
saw a chain of heights, with their blue-grey outlines floating 
indistinctly in the haze ; and at a considerable distance to our 
right front I again got a glimpse of another side of that well- 
defined peak which I had observed two days ago from the 
deck of our vessel. 
Everywhere Wild Ducks were flying over the marsh, 
countless flocks of Lapwings were whirling their gay plumage 
in the air, and at each step we saw Marsh-Harriers and 
Black Kites; while Hooded Crows, Magpies, Sparrows, 
Larks, Buntings, Wagtails, and various other birds en- 
livened the scene. Jackdaws, too, were nesting in great 
numbers, both in some high oaks which stood at intervals 
along the roadside, and in a little wood of the same trees 
near a farmhouse. 
The road now brought us to another brook ; and this little 
fellow, mimicking the Danube, bore on both its banks a 
narrow belt of “auen,” consisting of a few willows. Purple 
and Grey Herons were flying up and down it, and a splendid 
Osprey sailed along over the water; and while we were 
delightedly watching this lively bird of prey catching fish, it 
was quickly followed by another, and soon afterwards by a 
