The Last Journals of David Livingstone, in Central Africa, from 1865 to His Death, Volume II (of 2), 1869-1873: Continued By A Narrative Of His Last Moments And Sufferings, Obtained From His Faithful Servants Chuma And SusiLivingstone, David
History
The Last Journals of David Livingstone, in Central Africa, from 1865 to His Death, Volume II (of 2), 1869-1873: Continued By A Narrative Of His Last Moments And Sufferings, Obtained From His Faithful Servants Chuma And Susi
Livingstone, David
Africa, Central -- Description and travel
Two Whydah birds, after their nest was destroyed several times, now try
again in another pomegranate-tree in the yard. They put back their eggs,
as they have the power to do, and build again.
The trout has the power of keeping back the ova when circumstances are
unfavourable to their deposit. She can quite absorb the whole, but
occasionally the absorbents have too much to do; the ovarium, and
eventually the whole abdomen, seems in a state of inflammation, as when
they are trying to remove a mortified human limb; and the poor fish,
feeling its strength leaving it, true to instinct, goes to the entrance
to the burn where it ought to have spawned, and, unable to ascend, dies.
The defect is probably the want of the aid of a milter.
_27th May, 1872._--Another pair of the kind (in which the cock is
redbreasted) had ten chickens, also rebuilds afresh. The red cock-bird
feeds all the brood. Each little one puts his head on one side as he
inserts his bill, chirruping briskly, and bothering him. The young ones
lift up a feather as a child would a doll, and invite others to do the
same, in play. So, too, with another pair. The cock skips from side to
side with a feather in his bill, and the hen is pleased: nature is full
of enjoyment. Near Kasanganga's I saw boys shooting locusts that settled
on the ground with little bows and arrows.
Cock Whydah bird died in the night. The brood came and chirruped to it
for food, and tried to make it feed them, as if not knowing death!
A wagtail dam refused its young a caterpillar till it had been
killed--she ran away from it, but then gave it when ready to be
swallowed. The first smile of an infant with its toothless gums is one
of the pleasantest sights in nature. It is innocence claiming kinship,
and asking to be loved in its helplessness.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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