Water- Voles. 57 



waving in the air fully five feet above the surface of 

 the water ! As we watched, we saw the mother-bird 

 travel down an inclined plane made of bent rushes, 

 which led direct from the nest to the river-bank. Her 

 brood followed her, and soon all dropped into the water 

 and were hidden among the reeds. Within an hour 

 we saw them all return to the nest up the inclined 

 plane, and so things went on for several days till they 

 forsook their home. On examination it was clear to 

 us that as the water rose the old birds must have 

 placed themselves under the nest and gradually lifted 

 it on their backs some five feet. But it was not in 

 their power to make it descend, so they fastened it 

 securely to the reeds, and constructed the roadway to 

 the shore for the egress and ingress of their brood a 

 beautiful instance of parental care and of the instinct 

 God bestows upon His creatures for their preservation 

 and that of their brood." 



Here the water-hens have laid their eggs and reared 

 their broods for many seasons for seven now to my 

 own knowledge and observation not much frightened, 

 apparently, by the horses that come down here to 

 drink, and sometimes in the hot days will indulge 

 themselves in a good bath and swim, much to the 

 chagrin of the men, who loudly cry and scream and 

 whistle at them, not liking the extra work of rubbing 

 dry thereby entailed on them, or the dogs that come 

 there from the farm-house to swim and enjoy them- 

 selves every day. 



And not far from the moor-hens is a settlement of 

 water-voles, who very quietly and unobtrusively carry 

 on their daily life and work. Beautiful little creatures, 

 with that gentle look and soft retiring shyness in their 

 every action which so appeals to the lover of animals 



