it6 the adventures of 



■which was bordered with large trees, among which king-fishers 

 were skimming about. One of these birds came and perched 

 close to us, — its breast was white, its wings black on the 

 upper side, and its head-feathers dark green ; its stout, thick- 

 set shape, and its short tail, made Lucien remark that it 

 looked like a mal-formed creature.- Always restless, it almost 

 immediately resumed its abrupt flight over the surface of the 

 water, and disappeared among the windings of the ravine. 



Lucien pointed out to me an immense willow, the branches of 

 which, drooping over the water, seemed to have at their 

 ends enormous gourd-shaped fruits. I recognised in them 

 the nests of those beautiful yellow birds, spotted with black, 

 which the Mexicans call calandres. To convince Lucien of his 

 mistake, I'Encuerado threw a large stone into the tree; the 

 missile fell from branch to branch, and more than a hundred 

 frightened birds flew out from their curious retreats. At first 

 they appeared much alarmed; but when this had subsided, 

 they skimmed over the water, or entered their impregnable 

 habitations. 



We made our way down the ravine in hopes of finding a rest- 

 ing-place less rugged, and after a long, winding, tedious course, 

 came upon a sheet of calm water, flowing over a bed of sand. 

 The sun was shining full upon its transparent surface, and, close 

 to the edge, hundreds of flies were whirUng about. 



" Those are coleopterae," said Sumichrast to Lucien. 



" Why do they turn round and round like that?" inquired he. 



" To find their food, for they are carnivorous, and require a 

 great deal of nourishment. In France they are commonly called 

 tourniquets, or water-fleas.''' 



Lucien wanted to catch one, but could not succeed ; I'Encue- 

 rado and Sumichrast joined in the pursuit. At first, I amused 

 myself with watching the useless efforts of my companions ; but 

 at last, thinking myself cleverer than they, I squatted down also. 

 There we all four were, with our hands in the water, perfectly 

 motionless, and holding our breath, the better to remain motion- 

 less. The insects were all in a close mass, and whirling round 

 like a living mosaic ; moving in every direction without separat- 



i ! 



