. Crusoe's Island; a bird-hunter's story . seagrapes, where, among the racemes of creamy flowers,I often found many birds, attracted by their honeyand the hovering insects. The first bird I shotthere was a black and yellow sugar-eater, whichfell into a dense cluster of sea grapes. As anotherbird attracted me just then, I departed in pursuit ofit, merely pausing long enough to note where the firsthad fallen. When I returned, a few minutes later, I couldnot find it; but as I was peering through the leaves,which cast a flickering shade on the snowy sands, Isaw a large lizard, with one foot raised
. Crusoe's Island; a bird-hunter's story . seagrapes, where, among the racemes of creamy flowers,I often found many birds, attracted by their honeyand the hovering insects. The first bird I shotthere was a black and yellow sugar-eater, whichfell into a dense cluster of sea grapes. As anotherbird attracted me just then, I departed in pursuit ofit, merely pausing long enough to note where the firsthad fallen. When I returned, a few minutes later, I couldnot find it; but as I was peering through the leaves,which cast a flickering shade on the snowy sands, Isaw a large lizard, with one foot raised, intently watch-ing me. Looking closely I saw that he had appro-priated the bird I had shot, had stripped it of itsfeathers, and was hastily devouring it when I hadappeared. A tuft of feathers stuck to his nose, which hevainly endeavored to scratch on0 with the claws ofone foot, at the same time eying me suspiciously, as 232 CRUSOES ISLAND. if asking what I was going to do about it. He pre-sented snch a comical sight and was so supremely. ^£0^r*Sg>L*>r~~J. Bird-Spider and Lizard. audacious that I was about to move away and lethim enjoy his feast unmolested, when another objectdrew my attention. AFTER THE HURRICANE. 233 Descending upon the lizard by long leaps, out ofthe grape branches appeared a large bird-spider, withhairy legs and formidable beak. Before I couldinterfere, it had seized the reptile behind the neck,and then ensued a struggle for life. It was short,however, and soon the lizard was lying lifeless acrossthe body of the bird, and both victims were thespiders prey. 17 CHAPTER XXIII. THOMAS NED FINDS A PEARL OF PRICE. A search for novelties—How the world has changed—The greatjabiru—Pearls at Man-o-war Bay—Exploring the coral caves—In the grasp of a devilfish—A grave beneath the palms—Friends come for me, and I leave paradise. One can not be a-field anywhere, in forest or byshore, without seeing something worthy of observa-tion and making note of
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookidcrusoesi, booksubjectbirds
