Sea Swallows 



or nearly so beneath, and the tail lustrous 

 white, the top of the head and the hind neck 

 a glossy black, the lengthened bill and legs a 

 bright, pinkish red, the long, slender wings as 

 willowy as the gulls', they formed a picture as 

 beautiful as it was lively and dashing. A flock 

 and flurry of birds like this, with their surging 

 mass of vitality and grace, afford a pleasure 

 never found in a single specimen; and yet, in 

 such a multitude, the sense of individuality is 

 lost, and the observer comes closer to its nat- 

 ure when he watches a single individual, than 

 when he follows the motions of a large con- 

 course. Throughout almost my entire circuit 

 of the island, they formed a bright and flying 

 cloud above my head. Being rather conserva- 

 tive in my estimate, I said there were hundreds 

 and perhaps thousands of them. That this was 

 not a rash conclusion seems evident from the 

 fact that the skipper declared there were a mil- 

 lion ; and, on appealing to my hermit host for 

 his opinion, he gravely said, " forty million." 

 While this canopy of swiftly interweaving 

 birds was spread above my head, I was also over- 

 arched by the maze of their continuous and 

 pecuUar little cries, which I will not make the 

 birds nor myself ridiculous by trying to imi- 



127 



