CHAPTER XVII. 



THE HAUNTS OF THE GAD WALL. 



ABOUT sixty years ago a pair of Gadwall,* 

 captured during winter on the decoy at Southacre, 

 were pinioned and then liberated by the Rev. John 

 Fountaine at Narford, in Norfolk. There they 

 bred ; and so congenial did their progeny find 

 their new home that they in turn stayed on of their 

 own accord and did likewise. Moreover, they are 

 credited with having enticed reinforcements of 

 genuinely wild Gadwalls to remain for the summer. 

 Anyhow, the Gadwall nowadays breeds commonly 

 in parts of Norfolk, not only at the place of 

 introduction, but also on sundry estates which offer 

 suitable environment. A few pairs, too, nest in 

 Suffolk, but records of the Gadwall breeding in 

 other counties are seldom met with. During 

 winter, however, this bird is more widely 

 distributed, especially in parts of the Hebrides, 

 though in the west of England and in Wales it is 

 of rare occurrence. 



The Gadwall's breeding-hauntf which I have 

 visited is not a notorious one ; the bird is not by 



* Anas strepera L. 



f It now, strangely enough, nests in one or two places in Scotland. 



