. Birds and nature . ircling wide in their billowy flight,Low, low oer the reeds where the bobolink sings, Then swift rising, theyre lost in the a sudden the west wind springs wanton and wild, And drives a bright cloud straight along,Till black anger oershadows its loveliness mild And a rain of tears falls on the throng. Ah, then what a tumult of jubilant sound Fills the air from fair earth to the sky!As if each winged creature a new song had .found, And would fain waft it quickly on mingling softly with bird-notes and rain Comes an echo from swamplands and bogs;Fairy sleighb
. Birds and nature . ircling wide in their billowy flight,Low, low oer the reeds where the bobolink sings, Then swift rising, theyre lost in the a sudden the west wind springs wanton and wild, And drives a bright cloud straight along,Till black anger oershadows its loveliness mild And a rain of tears falls on the throng. Ah, then what a tumult of jubilant sound Fills the air from fair earth to the sky!As if each winged creature a new song had .found, And would fain waft it quickly on mingling softly with bird-notes and rain Comes an echo from swamplands and bogs;Fairy sleighbells are tinkling a silvery refrain— Sweet and clear chimes the peeping of frogs. The tuneful robin, whose lay like a hymn Saluted the great rising sun,Will intone a vesper when the lights growing dim, Lamenting the day that is just before moon-rise we pause with a thrill, And listen intently to hearThe sweet plaintive cry of the sad whip-poor-will, Calling forth now a smile, now a tear. —Maria M. m^ammamammmamuBMMammam THE RED-BREASTED MERGANSER. {Merganser serrator.) The three mergansers, the Red-breasted, American and hooded, are gen-erally known as fish ducks, sheldrakes orsaw-bills. They frequent swift running-streams and ponds and lakes, where theyfeed almost exclusively upon fish, whichthey pursue and capture under bills are hooked and deeplynotched on either side, forming whatmight be called prongs or teeth, and theirbarbed like edges are especially adaptedfor catching and holding the fish whichthe birds bring to the surface beforeswallowing. The legs of the all fish ducks areplaced far back on the body, enablingtheir owners to outswim the other waterfowls of their class. They frequentlyrest upon logs and the stumps of treeswhich are found in or near the hooded merganser is the only saw-bill whose flesh is at all palatable, andunfortunately they are the handsomest ofthe tribe; the males rivaling the woodand harlequin ducks in b
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