. Cassell's natural history. Animals; Animal behavior. NATUMAL HlSrOKY. the water, their necks alone are left to attract attention, and these may often be detected even among the weed-stalks. In winter they assemble in little comi)anies, probaljly consisting of the old birds and their families of the previous summer, and on the ai)proach' of danger they dive under water and disperse in different directions; there is, however, generally some place of refuge for which they make, perhaps a spot where the bushes overhang the water or a bed of rushes near the bank. They may, perchance, be intercept
. Cassell's natural history. Animals; Animal behavior. NATUMAL HlSrOKY. the water, their necks alone are left to attract attention, and these may often be detected even among the weed-stalks. In winter they assemble in little comi)anies, probaljly consisting of the old birds and their families of the previous summer, and on the ai)proach' of danger they dive under water and disperse in different directions; there is, however, generally some place of refuge for which they make, perhaps a spot where the bushes overhang the water or a bed of rushes near the bank. They may, perchance, be intercepted on their way thither, but so sharp are the Dabchick's eyes, and so great the. distance which he can s^vim under water, that out of twenty birds which may be seen swimming together at first, probably not more than half-a-dozen come again under the observer's eye. The little birds will, perhaps, appear on the surface as light as a cork floating, but only for an instant: the slightest movement in the boat and they disappear like lightning, so that frequently the only intimation one has of their presence is the splash and the ripple which indicate where the bird has gone down. Where it will reappear is quite a matter of conjecture, for, once under the water, it may press forward in any direction, and come up again fifty yards off in quite an unexpected quarter. We remember once finding a Dabchick feeding in a narrow ditch ending in a .cul-de-sac, and oui-- selves at the end of the ditch, we waited patiently for the bird to appear, making sure that we should. 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 Duncan, P. Martin (Peter Martin), 1821-1891; Metcalf Collection (North Carolina State University). NCRS. London [etc] Cassell & Company, Limited
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjecta, booksubjectanimals
