68 MID-APRIL 
which country people say sounds like, ‘bit 
o bread and no chee—ee—ee—se. A _ few 
yards away on the ground was a fresh swan’s 
nest, ready for the eggs. It was built at 
the top of a pathway made by the birds 
beneath the greenery, similar to the one on 
Swan Island that we found last year (see 
Part-I, p..15): Close to 1t lay an volapum 
broken egg that had been dropped there or 
ejected from the nest ; we have before 
noticed that this is their manner sometimes. 
Ted found a Thrush sitting quietly on her 
eggs, though I had been photographing only 
a few feet away. On reaching the boat, we 
again flushed the full snipe on the beach, 
and then rowed away to Carrion Crow Island. 
As usual the birds made off as soon as we 
approached. I saw them sitting watching 
us disconsolately two hundred yards away, 
uttering from time to time their slow hoarse 
caws. I got a photograph of one of the three 
nests built there (see p. 40), with four bluish 
grey dark spotted eggs—a full clutch ; 
each egg was about an inch long. The old 
