. Familiar life in field and forest; the animals, birds, frogs, and salamanders . ne of them rushed by very near us, bothflying and swimming, with wings in the air and feetin the water. He swept by us with a noise like asteamboat, but no boat could equal his speed. Atevery stroke of his wings he smote the water as wellas the air. But aquatic birds are always a source of surpriseto us when we see the rapidity of their progressionthrough the water. Last June, when the Pemige-wasset River, New Hampshire, had swollen to anenormous and resistless flood after a long rain, and Iwas watching the seeth
. Familiar life in field and forest; the animals, birds, frogs, and salamanders . ne of them rushed by very near us, bothflying and swimming, with wings in the air and feetin the water. He swept by us with a noise like asteamboat, but no boat could equal his speed. Atevery stroke of his wings he smote the water as wellas the air. But aquatic birds are always a source of surpriseto us when we see the rapidity of their progressionthrough the water. Last June, when the Pemige-wasset River, New Hampshire, had swollen to anenormous and resistless flood after a long rain, and Iwas watching the seething water sweeping beneaththe bridge with fearful rapidity, I was much sur-prised to witness the successful efforts of a red-breasted sheldrake (Merganser serrator) making up-stream, with no inconsiderable amount of speed. Ishouted and clapped my hands, and the bird, takingimmediate alarm, flapped his wings and shot over thesurface of the flying water like an express train. Icalculated at the time he was making fully thirtymiles an hour, although relatively with the river bank. THE PEMIGEWASSET RIVERAT BLAIRS BRIDGE, ANDTHE SHELDRAKE. MERGANSER SERRATOR, He slyly proceedsup stream.
Size: 1917px × 1304px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookauthorma, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectzoology
