ii6 The Field Natu7''alisfs Quarterly May 



be applied to their April habits. The spawning of Pike does 

 not take place simultaneously. The smaller fish shoot their 

 roe first, but, as a general rule, for some days previously 

 both they and Perch swim in pairs, and in former days at 

 anyrate many couples were taken "with a little bit of lint" 

 {i.e., net) from their favourite haunt or hole. Now, too, 

 is the time when Pike run up the ditches communicating 

 with the broads and rivers, and many a fish has by 

 thus rendering itself more than usually conspicuous fallen 

 a victim to impromptu boot -lace, or a carefully smoked 

 copper-wire, snare. 



But we have now crossed the broad, so will take a glimpse 

 over Swimcoots wall and see what the fowl are doing in the 

 slad : lie low, and have your glasses ready as the boat drifts 

 up to the shore, for the noisy Redshanks will soon betray our 

 whereabouts, and should a great grey harnser be standing 

 anywhere near where the boat runs aground, we shall not 

 have much time to inspect the aerial concourse which will 

 immediately follow his resonant "Frank! Frank!" Look, 

 there are three gaunt Herons all close together, and another 

 a few yards away, all motionless as statues. " They are 

 after the eels and frogs now the water has gone down," 

 says our boatman, but we do not see that they make any 

 attempt to feed. A soft and gentle " wheoh, wheoh," at- 

 tracts our attention to a bunch of Wigeon, and a beautiful 

 old male, with lovely pale buff occiput and pure white 

 speculum, raises himself up, treads water for a second, 

 meanwhile flaps his wings, and strokes his breast with his 

 beak. Three marbled Shoveller drakes and one female tell 

 the tale that their domestic difficulties have commenced, 

 and a pair of Garganey Teal raise the wish to our lips that 

 they may remain to nest ; for, from some inexplicable cause, 

 this species has decreased here just in about the same time 

 and proportion as the Shovellers have increased. 



The unexpected happens, and neither Redshank nor 

 Heron is responsible for spoiling our picture ; but the play- 

 ful gambols of some half-dozen colts, freshly turned out, dis- 

 turb the Herons, and they, once on the wing, soon give the 

 alarm ; so, after crouching still for a few seconds, we stand 

 upright to watch the rising medley of bird life. A very 



