138 Mr. W. E. Clarke, Field- Notes 



its dam, which was harnessed to our cart. Wolves are very 

 numerous in this district, and perhaps in Slavonia generally, 

 and since our visit to Dobanovci a party beat the wood and 

 shot seven. As we entered Dobanovci no less than nine 

 White Storks were soaring over the village at a great height, 

 and one of these descended rapidly at an angle of 60° to a 

 nest close to us, using its wings as a parachute by keeping 

 them parallel with its legs, which were outstretched in the 

 direction of the descent ; the neck and head were lowered 

 in the same direction, and altogether it presented a most 

 remarkable aj)pearance. During our trip we had abundant 

 opportunity for studying the habits of this species and 

 considered it rather an uninteresting bird than otherwise. 

 As a rule, one of the parents was generally to be seen standing 

 on the side of the nest in a most lethargic attitude. Some- 

 times when both were at the nest one of them (perhaps the 

 male) made a loud hollow snapping noise, and went through 

 the pantomimic performance, while so doing, of throwing 

 back the neck and placing the crown of the head on the lower 

 portion of the back. But to return. After some breakfast 

 we took a small light punt into the marsh, but found the 

 reed-beds so dense that it was quite impossible to penetrate 

 them for any distance, and after some hard work were com- 

 pelled to desist after having found only a few nests of the 

 Great Reed- Warbler and one of the Moorhen. This was a 

 disappointment, as the Little Bittern was not uncommon and 

 probably nesting. Squacco Herons, Night-Herons, and 

 White- eyed Ducks were numerous, and we observed also a 

 few Common Terns and a solitary Penduline Tit, while in a 

 vineyard on the margin was shot a male Stonechat ; the 

 latter an interesting type, having the head and back ex- 

 tremely black, the bay confined to a patch on fore neck, and 

 the breast and abdomen silky white. In this marsh abounded 

 huge specimens of Lymneea stagnalis and Planorbis corneus, 

 and Paludina hungarica was not uncommon ; on the road from 

 Dobanovci to Semlin we found eight nests of Lesser Grey 

 Shrikes in the acacias ; they were as large as those of a 

 Blackbii'd, and were chiefly composed of a large species of 



