202 BllITISH HIllDS. Ivol x. 



But no sooner had he settled in Surrey — so far as such a 

 wanderer settles anywhere — than the attraction of bird-study 

 at once leaped to his mind and he threw himself into it Avith 

 all the zeal and fierce energy of his nature. I remember him 

 declaring that the field-craft involved in " spotting " the nest 

 of a single and scarce bird rivalled that of puzzling out a 

 difficult spoor on African velt. One of those earlier springs, 

 when he was coming to me here, he had written months 

 beforehand fixing the precise dates and also specifying the 

 birds whose nests he wished me to " mark " for him in advance, 

 though not an egg was to be taken save by his own hand 

 alone. I wish I could find that letter ! It set forth in precise 

 detail his programme from March to July, the pre-ordained 

 routes including flying journeys to and fro across these 

 islands from Orkney and Shetland, Caithness and Kent, 

 Nottinghamshire, Northumberland and Norfolk — and I know 

 not where else. The first bird we tried for here was the Wood- 

 Wren. Howard Saunders happened to be staying with me 

 and our trio set forth to the spot where, as instructed, I had 

 previously located a breeding-pair, though the date (May 27) 

 was rather too early for a nest. The locality was a steep 

 slope heavily wooded with tall trees (ash, oak, wych-elm and 

 birch), mostly in full leaf, amidst which it was difficult enough 

 to keep an eye on a tiny warbler trilling in the topmost 

 summits. Yet I don't believe that Selous ever lost sight, 

 save for transient seconds, and at the end of half-an-hour he 

 came up and pointed to a hazel-bush growing on a ledge far 

 above us and nearly 100 yards to the west. What he said 

 was, " Beyond that hazel there must be a dip in the ground 

 and in that dip about 6 or 8 feet beyond the bush, I think is 

 the nest." Incidentally he also mentioned that on the inter- 

 vening slope a Robin was feeding young and a Wren was 

 building. Having verified these minor facts as we ascended, 

 we presently stood by the hazel. Beyond it was the dip 

 foretold ; but that dip was choked with fallen boughs, long 

 dead grass and the wreck of last year's bracken. Within 

 brief seconds Selous said, " I see it." Now Saunders and I 

 had practised this sort of quest for many a year ; yet we saw 

 nothing. What Selous saw was— in effect — a mouse-hole 

 deeply concealed behind six feet of obstructing grass and fern. 

 But it was the nest of the Wood-Wren and a week later 

 contained six eggs— now housed at Worplesdon. Presently 

 Selous called to me that he had found another nest but had 

 failed to identify the owner as she skulked off through the 

 scrub. Before him grew a bed of rank nettles full 3 feet high. 

 I asked him how he knew exactly where the nest was. He 



