. Our search for a wilderness; an account of two ornithological expeditions to Venezuela and to British Guiana. Natural history; Birds. i6 OUR SEARCH FOR A WILDERNESS. A whir of wings sounded, and a Kingfisher ""alighted within arm's reach. But such a Kingfisher! — the veriest mite, clad in a robe of brilliant emerald and orange. So small was he that it seemed as if the tiniest of minnows must choke him. He seemed to be of the same opinion, for while we watched him he caught only the insects which passed him in mid-air or which were floating on the water. By far the most numerous, an
. Our search for a wilderness; an account of two ornithological expeditions to Venezuela and to British Guiana. Natural history; Birds. i6 OUR SEARCH FOR A WILDERNESS. A whir of wings sounded, and a Kingfisher ""alighted within arm's reach. But such a Kingfisher! — the veriest mite, clad in a robe of brilliant emerald and orange. So small was he that it seemed as if the tiniest of minnows must choke him. He seemed to be of the same opinion, for while we watched him he caught only the insects which passed him in mid-air or which were floating on the water. By far the most numerous, and in their way the most interesting of the mangroves' inhabitants, were the Fig. 7. Four-eyed Fish, There were untold millions of them, all small, all active and keen of vision. If we sat quietly, they would appear from everywhere, peeping out like little gnomes from their perches on the mangroves, forever playing their noiseless little fiddles. These tiny tree-folk not only played, but danced. Let us picture a scene constantly enacted, so close to us that we could all liut touch the performers. Two crabs approach each other, now fiddling vigorously, now waving their diminu- tive pincers back and forth over their heads as a ballet- dancer waves her arms. They move never in straight lines, but sideways, now running back a few steps, now forward,. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Beebe, Mary; Beebe, William, 1877-1962, joint author. London, Constable
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, books, booksubjectnaturalhistory
