Birds
威廉·亨利·哈德遜 / William Henry Hudson
For some time past I had been ascending a low， broad， f？lattopped hill， and on forcing my way through the undergrowth into the open I found myself on the level plateau， an unenclosed spot overgrown with heather and scattered furze bushes， with clumps of f？ir and birch trees. Before me and on either hand at this elevation a vast extent of country was disclosed. The surface was everywhere broken， but there was no break in the wonderful greenness， which the recent rain had intensif？ied. There is too much green， to my thinking， with too much uniformity in its soft， bright tone， in South Devon. After gazing on such a landscape the brown， harsh， scanty vegetation of the hill-top seemed all the more grateful. The heath was an oasis and a refuge； I rambled about in it until my feet and legs were wet； then I sat down to let them dry and altogether spent several agreeable hours at that spot， pleased at the thought that no human fellow-creature would intrude upon me. Feathered companions were， however， not wanting. The crowing of cock pheasants from the thicket beside the old road warned me that I was on preserved grounds. Not too strictly preserved， however， for there was my old friend the carrion-crow out foraging for his young. He dropped down over the trees， swept past me， and was gone. At this season， in the early summer， he may be easily distinguished， when f？lying， from his relation the rock. When on the prowl the crow glides smoothly and rapidly through the air， often changing his direction， now f？lying close to the surface， anon mounting high， but oftenest keeping nearly on a level with the tree tops. His gliding and curving motions are somewhat like those of the herring-gull， but the wings in gliding are carried stiff and straight， the tips of the long f？light-feathers showing a slight upward curve. But the greatest difference is in the way the head is carried. The rook， like the heron and stork， carries his beak pointing lancelike straight before him. He knows his destination， and makes for it； he follows his nose， so to speak， turning neither to the right nor the left. The foraging crow continually turns his head， gulllike and harrielike， from side to side， as if to search the ground thoroughly or to concentrate his vision on some vaguely seen object.