THE RUFF AND REEVE, 



MACHETES PUGNAX. 



WHAT a host of rare birds are conjured up in the 

 mind of the ornithologist at the bare mention of the 

 fens ! the great fens of Lincoln, Cambridge, and 

 Norfolk, which once covered such an immense tract 

 of country, and which were seldom invaded by any 

 one except the inveterate sportsman, whom neither 

 bog nor water could deter, or the crafty fowler, 

 whose life depended upon his trade. 



Here the long -winged, long -tailed Harriers 

 quartered the ground uninterruptedly for miles, 

 pouncing upon the young Teal or Shoveller, or 

 carrying off, from the very surface of the water, the 

 unwary Spotted Crake before it could dive. Here 

 the Short-eared Owl reared its young, and brought 

 them fat Water-shrews and Short-tailed Field-mice. 

 Here the Bittern " boomed" as it crept amongst 



