WITH THE BIRDS IN WALES 103 



climbing an oak hard by which leant over the water, 

 I watched and waited. I had a splendid view of a 

 pair of Moorhens (Waterhen is, I think, such a much 

 better name for this bird, as one would no more 

 expect to find one on a moor than a Grouse on the 

 river). Presently I heard the piping cry of a King- 

 fisher coming from the spot I had just examined, so 

 retracing my steps, reached the place once more. 

 The piping continued, so keeping quite still, I awaited 

 results. Nor had I long to wait, for shortly a King- 

 fisher flew out of the bank, as it were, and perched 

 on a small branch within a few feet of me, where he 

 sat for fully five minutes, preening his feathers and 

 going through his toilet, before skimming off down 

 stream. I then moved also, soon after disturbing 

 what was probably the same bird from a stump close 

 to a highish bit of bank. Here, sure enough, I found 

 the nest-hole, but I did not think that there were any 

 eggs there yet. I watched for fully an hour in the 

 branches of an oak growing close by, but during that 

 time I only saw one Kingfisher, which flashed past 

 the nest-hole, uttering its shrill " seep-seep." There 

 were one or two feathers of this species at the mouth 

 of the hole which was well used, being worn con- 

 siderably by the ingress and egress of the two birds. 

 Whilst in my ambush I heard, on the opposite bank, 

 the "drumming" of one of the Spotted Woodpeckers 

 — the Greater Spotted, I think, as it was hardly loud 

 enough for that of the lesser species, which, though 

 considerably smaller in point of size, makes infinitely 

 more noise. The bird beats a sort of tattoo on a 

 dead or decaying branch. I have been quite close to 



