Pond Life 
the feathery reed flowers bend so grace- 
fully before the breeze, or whether the 
winds of winter rustle the dry and yellow 
stalks on a cold winter's day. In some 
parts the beautiful nest of the reed- 
warbler may be found suspended, with 
the green-mottled eggs lying so cosily in 
the deep cradle slung cleverly between the 
upright stalks. 
The reed-bunting, with its jet black 
head and white collar, is to be seen 
clinging to the rushes and willows, and 
the pretty little sedge-warbler’s chatter- 
ing song heard from the  pondside 
bushes ; while the pied and yellow wag- 
tails trip nimbly about the muddy banks, 
and flit with their peculiar dipping flight 
from one side to the other. A yellow 
wagtail fluttering upwards after some 
insect in the air looks like a bright 
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