280 BIRDS AND MAN 



count them ; never before had I seen as many as 

 half that number in one lot. I may add that 

 rarely have I witnessed a more beautiful scene in 

 wild bird life than this gathering of moorhens 

 presented. It was a bright genial day. A 

 group of large horse-chestnuts grow on the 

 marshy end of the island at that spot and extend 

 their long branches over the stagnant water, just 

 then covered with vivid green duckweed. The 

 trees were in their yeUow foliage, and the fallen 

 leaves beneath, at the water's edge, formed a 

 rough carpet — yellow, bright russet, and copper 

 red. On the bed of leaves, and on the water at 

 the side, the birds were collected, standing in a 

 variety of pretty attitudes, some idly dozing in 

 the bright sunshine, others preening their 

 feathers, or bathing, or sitting on the water 

 pecking at the floating duckweed. Here was an 

 exquisite bit of unspoiled nature — a picture that 

 would Uve in memory : wood and water, the 

 surface of the lake more vividly green than any 

 turf, with here and there clear patches where the 

 sunlit water looked dark as black glass ; above, 

 and seen through the wilderness of trees, the 

 blue bright sky — blue behind the yellow 



