2 SCOLOPACID^. 



fact of my having found, a nearly perfect egg in one of the birds shot at the 

 same place only a few days previously, proved quite plainly that my want 

 of success was not owing to the young being already hatched; besides, even 

 if they were abroad weeks ago, where were the nests ? It was certain that 

 the eggs were somewhere, therefore I returned to the marshes, determined 

 not to leave a single square yard unexplored. 



" As before, I put up plenty of Snipe and a number of Dunlins, all in 

 beautiful summer plumage, and once more fell in with pairs of Phalaropes 

 in all directions, but still there were no nests. Then, up to my knees in 

 mud and water, I stood still, wondering, and, it must be confessed, not a 

 little out of temper. Now, at the other end of the swamp, where there 

 seemed to be no bu-ds, was a quantity of drier ground, covered with moderately 

 long withered grass, and intersected in every direction by numerous irregular 

 natural drains, some not more than three feet wide, others as many yards, but 

 all forming a network so close and intricate as to leave no piece of dry land 

 larger than ten or twelve feet across. Again I set to work, not, it is true, 

 with any great hope of success, but because I had fully resolved to examine 

 the whole of the swamp, so that in case of failure there might at least be no 

 after reproaches. Very soon I discovered what my error had been. First, 

 I found a rough sort of nest, composed of dry grass, too small and too deep 

 for a Dunlin's, and therefore, in all probability, that of a Phalarope ; then, 

 within a few minutes, I discovered two more nests, newly commenced, but 

 no eggs. Shortly afterwards I picked up the broken shell of a newly hatched 

 egg, then fragments of three others, and close beside them a perfect nest. I 

 carefully packed the fragments in a chip box, in order to convince sceptics, 

 and then noted down the description of the nest.. It consisted of nothing 

 more than a cavity low down among the tall grass ; deep in form, and rather 

 neatly lined with blades of the same, most of which were broad and flat ; 

 at the bottom they formed a bed about half an inch in thickness ; from the 

 upper surface of this bed to the rim of the nest the height was nearly three 

 inches, the width across the inner rim a little less than two inches. Very shortly 

 afterwards, a male Phalarope rose unexpectedly, and alighted in the water 

 about ten yards off. Marking the spot as closely as possible, I floundered 

 through the muddy water, scrambled upon the little island, and soon afterwards, 

 to my intense delight, discovered a nest and four beautiful eggs, all lying with 

 their small ends meeting in the centre. They were hard set, but for all that, 

 were a most valuable prize. The nest only differed from the last in having a few 

 feathers, apparently from the breast of one of the birds, lying loosely inside. 



