. The birds' calendar . heir nests. Many of the nests con-tained little or none of this material, whichseemed almost superfluous, considering the sub-stratum of soft sand. These swallows are to becongratulated for the instinct that prompts themto select such a singular location for their abode—so comfortable and thoroughly protected, im-pervious to rain and wind. Hovering about the same stream could beseen the belted kingfisher, very much of a water-fowl in instinct and physiognomy, if not in anat-omy. Alighting upon a bush close beside me,his amazement atdiscovering the intrusion (ofcourse /
. The birds' calendar . heir nests. Many of the nests con-tained little or none of this material, whichseemed almost superfluous, considering the sub-stratum of soft sand. These swallows are to becongratulated for the instinct that prompts themto select such a singular location for their abode—so comfortable and thoroughly protected, im-pervious to rain and wind. Hovering about the same stream could beseen the belted kingfisher, very much of a water-fowl in instinct and physiognomy, if not in anat-omy. Alighting upon a bush close beside me,his amazement atdiscovering the intrusion (ofcourse / was the intruder, not he) made himmotionless for an instant, and then with awk-ward grace and coarse cry he dashed out of sightdown the stream. In a neighboring bank Ifound his nest, or that of some other kingfisher,modelled after that of the bank swallow, butmuch larger and deeper—a straight tunnel atleast five feet long. Along this stream I often found a pair ofsandpipers, with their ludicrous, teetering bodies228. SPOTTED SANDPIPER August aud bobbing heads, half walking, half runningat the waters edge on the other shore, itseemed a little remarkable that, whichever sideof the stream I might be on, those tilting littlesandpipers were sure to be on the opposite side—so like some folks. A phcebe also was linger-ing about the water. It was no holiday for him,he had a keen eye to business, and was makingfrequent sallies from the branch of an ancient,Calvinistic oak gnarled with age, and scarredwith adversity, but grim and defiant to theoutermost twig ; beneath whose angular shadeon a stretch of sloping green I lay and watchedthe shallow, eddying current, whose incessantflow seemed to palliate my own supreme idle-ness. A drove of cows returning home from pasture,lazily stopping here and there to browse, andone after the other splashing through the waterwith true bovine dignity and enjoyment, orstanding in its delicious coolness—luxurianttrees growing from the margin, and c
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1894
