WATER-OUZEL. 55 



" [I have, as ' Rifleman ' wished, made a 

 most careful examination of the bird, from 

 the stomach downwards. I was pleased to 

 find the gizzard (which is by no means very 

 muscular) quite full. I placed it in a vessel 

 of clean water, divided it in half, and 

 emptied out the contents, the whole of which 

 I passed in detail under the object-glass of a 

 microscope. I could not find the least trace 

 of fish ova ; I looked especially for the horny 

 egg-cases, for these would be the most likely 

 portions of the egg to escape digestion, but I 

 could not find any appearance whatever of 

 them. The contents of the gizzard consisted 

 entirely of the hard external cases of water 

 insects, portions of the legs with the hooks 

 attached, and broken fragments of other 

 portions of their bodies, intermixed with 



