26 BIRDS IN TOWN AND VILLAGE 



I am inclined to think of this act as only a slip, a 

 slight aberration, on the part of the falcon, so uni- 

 versal is the sense of relationship among the kinds 

 that have the rapacious habit ; or, at the worst, 

 it was merely an isolated act of devilry and daring 

 of the sharp-winged pirate of the sky, a sudden 

 assertion of overmastering energy and power, and 

 a very slight offence compared with that of the 

 crow when he carries off and devours his callow 

 little cousins of the rookery. 



One of the first birds I went out to seek — perhaps 

 the most medicinal of all birds to see — ^was the 

 kingfisher ; but he was not anywhere on the river 

 margin, although suitable places were plentiful 

 enough, and myriads of small fishes were visible 

 in the shallow water, seen at rest like dim-pointed 

 stripes beneath the surface, and darting away and 

 scattering outwards like a flight of arrows at any 

 person's approach. Walking along the river bank 

 one day, when the place was still new to me, I 

 discovered a stream, and following it up arrived at a 

 spot where a clump of trees overhung the water, 

 casting on it a deep shade. On the other side of the 

 stream buttercups grew so thickly that the glazed 

 petals of the flowers were touching ; the meadow 

 was one broad expanse of brilliant yellow. I had not 

 been standing half a minute in the shade before the 



