LAST WEEK IN MAY 129 
the camera legs, and gave a four-seconds ex- 
posure at /'/16, whilst Ted steadied the boat 
by holding on to a branch of the willow.) 
Only two or three of the tufted ducks 
which we had seen at the beginning of the 
season were there now. They had either 
left at the end of a visit of five or six weeks— 
attracted by the quiet spot and abundant 
aquatic plant food—or had been scared away 
by the carrion crows. On Pochard Island 
We again (sce p. 60), suddenly came upon 
a ringdove sitting on her nest built in a 
thicket and only eight feet from the ground, 
again a low elevation for a pigeon’s nest. 
The bird did not seem frightened, and we got 
within fifteen feet of her, not venturing nearer 
for fear of disturbing her. I could see the 
iridescent feathers and the white mark or 
‘ring,’ as it is called, on her neck, showing 
her at once to be a ringdove (or woodpigeon) 
and not a stockdove—and certainly not a 
turtledove. She must have seen us, but 
the thick undergrowth and the resulting 
semi-gloom gave her a sense of security ; 
B.N.—II. K 
