BIRDS OF BROADLAND AND STREAMSIDE. 199 



surprised to find that both nests had disappeared, 

 and their owners were flying round the vacant 

 sites, showing unmistakable signs of anxiety and 

 distress. A httle lower down stream we over- 

 hauled two boys, who proved to be the robbers. 

 Some grave references to the Wild Birds' Pro- 

 tection Acts, and the pointing out of the fact that 

 both clutches of eggs were too far incubated to 

 be of any use for a collection resulted in the 

 speedy restitution of the property. Within ten 

 minutes of the time the nests were replaced their 

 ov/ners were back upon them, and harmony was 

 restored all round, excepting, perhaps, in the 

 minds of the juvenile marauders, who proved to 

 have no intelligent interest whatever in oology. 



The sedge warblers figured in the illustration 

 on page 197 were the foster-parents of a young 

 cuckoo, of which they seemed to be inordinately 

 proud. 



For experimental purposes I borrowed a baby 

 reed warbler a day or two old, and, placing it in 

 the nest of these birds, went into hiding only a 

 couple of feet away. The young cuckoo had, 

 unfortunately for my purpose, passed the period 

 of casting everything out of the nest, but seemed 

 to be very desirous of trampling the irksome 

 intruder underfoot. 



When the female sedge bird came home with 

 food, she placed it all in the capacious mouth of 



