200 BRITISH BIRDS. 



found a pendent nest of the Long-tailed Tit swinging- from 

 a lichen-clad birch. His trained eye at once discriminated 

 the continental form of the sitting owner (the true Acredula 

 caudata of Linnaeus) by its whiter head, barely visible 

 within the entrance ; and also pointed out that the long tail 

 protruded from the hole above the said head. Steaming 

 along the Norsk coast, Saunders, ever keen on the Laridoe, 

 surveyed all that passed in view, but the muttered verdict 

 was usually, " Canvs again." On landing, among the 

 first birds seen was a Green Woodpecker, which he 

 examined with wraj)t attention and then excitedly ex- 

 claimed, "Certainly, canus ; distinctly canus !^' "Oh, 

 father," protested his daughters, "are all the birds in 

 Norway canus V Into the sacred precincts of home-life 

 one may not intrude ; yet it may be permissible to add 

 that such, in his case, was ideal and a joy to have shared. 



Through long practice, both at home and amid the 

 denser jungles of southern lands, he had acquired remark- 

 able quickness in identifying small species in the open, 

 even though but half-seen among foliage or reed-growth. 

 While staying here in spring, I attempted to surprise him 

 by showing him Pied Flycatchers breeding, but long 

 before I'eaching the place he had already " spotted " the 

 inconspicuous female. Rarely was he mistaken ; but one 

 morning he was confident he had recognized (by its 

 darker legs) a Chiffchaff — a species I had not heard 

 here. I should mention that during his later years, 

 Saunders was a little handicapped by deficient hearing — 

 not conversationally so, but in such cases as this. A 

 second observation confirmed the previous opinion, but 

 next day he insisted on the bird being secured, when it 

 proved to be a Willow- Wren with peculiarly dark legs. 

 These are small matters, but may serve to illustrate his 

 ways and methods. 



It may be interesting to recall that only a year ago, 

 though already suffering from his fatal malady and also 

 engaged upon the preparation of a third edition of his 

 "Manual " (a work he had set his heart upon completing 



