232 Pictures of Bird Life 



keite serve respectively for the Great Reed-warbler and the 

 smaller species. 



The nests are suspended between the iiprigiit reed-stems 

 in exactly the same fashion as those of our lleed-warbler, 

 but are of course much larger. A nest in my possession 

 measures 2h inches across the hollow, and 5 inches deep 

 outside, against li and 4 inches respectively. In tlie deep 

 hollow, lined witli the flower of the reed, the four eggs look 

 very liandsome, being very boldly spotted and marked with 

 ricli purplisli spots at the larger end. The birds are very 

 common, and the last time I was tliere we saw hundreds 

 of their nests. 



It is very curious that tliis bird, so common in Holland 

 and Xorth France, only separated from our coast l)y a narrow 

 twenty miles of sea, should be so exceedingly rare with 

 us. Barely half-a-dozen cases are known of the bird l^eing 

 seen in England, and I believe that there is not one 

 authenticated instance of its having nested. 



However, the Spoonbills are the chief objects of interest, 

 and we push on for their haunts in the far corner of the 

 " meer," passing many interesting sights, but stopping for 

 nothing. 



A Great Crested Grebe, accompanied by a single young 

 one, passes ahead of us, and is soon lost to siglit : Coots and 

 Ducks get up on each side; and we pull past the edge of 

 a large colony of Black-headed Gulls, whose harsli screams 

 accompany us until they consider we are off their particular 

 domain, when thev leave us and return to their nests. 



