BIRDS OF BROADLAND AND STREAMSIDE. 215 



denly ceased. I was now overtaken by a mood 

 of despair, and charged myself with having 

 selfishly attempted too near an approach to such 

 a timid, suspicious creature. A measure of relief 

 came, however, to my feelings, when I espied the 

 bird's beautiful dark eye glued to a hole just beyond 

 the far edge of her nest as mine was to one in the 

 reed screen. Thus we stared eye to eye, with 

 nothing else of either of us to be seen for minutes 

 together. Gaining confidence, I suppose, through 

 lack of either movement or sound of any sort on 

 my part, she soon afterwards thrust her head into 

 view, as shown in the accompanying picture, and 

 then shyly withdrew it again as she had done her 



WATER-RAIL COMING 

 ON TO NEST. 



