A
Great Deal Depends On Atmosphere And The Angle Of Vision.
For
instance, I have often looked at swans at the hour of sunset,
on the water and off it,
Or flying, and have frequently had
them between me and the level sun, yet never have I been
favoured with the sight of the rose-coloured, the red, and the
golden-yellow varieties of that majestic waterfowl, whose
natural colour is white. On the other hand, who ever saw a
carrion-crow with crimson eyes? Yet that was one of the
strange things I witnessed on the Otter.
Game is not everywhere strictly preserved in that part of
Devon, and the result is that the crow is not so abhorred and
persecuted a fowl as in many places, especially in the home
counties, where the cult of the sacred bird is almost
universal. At one spot on the stream where my rambles took me
on most days a pair of crows invariably greeted my approach
with a loud harsh remonstrance, and would keep near me, flying
from tree to tree repeating their angry girdings until I left
the place. Their nest was in a large elm, and after some days
I was pleased to see that the young had been safely brought
off. The old birds screamed at me no more; then I came on one
of their young in the meadow near the river. His curious
behaviour interested me so much that I stood and watched him
for half an hour or longer.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 178 of 298
Words from 48758 to 49011
of 82198
