Bird Life in Dutch Marshes 



243 



strikino-. 'i'lieir reddish plumage shows oft the yellow eyes 

 and hcak, o-reen le^^'s, and briglit blue primary (piills, so tliat 



three or four 

 of these bi- 

 zarre - looking 

 young birds 

 standing in 

 their nest 

 make a most 

 effective pic- 

 t u r e . T h e 

 adult birds 



are a trifle 

 smaller than 

 the Common 

 Herons, and 

 look darker in 

 colour. 



It was a 

 common sight 

 in our progress 

 in the punt 

 along the canal - 



like channels cut in tlie reeds to see these birds, disturbed by 

 our presence, rising from the reeds with flapping wings and 



Black Tern {Hydrocliclidon nigra). 



