"I6S L " THE SWAN AND HER CREW. 



" That's no help," said Frank, giving the swan a sharp poke 

 with the oar. Jimmy scrambled into the boat, and the swan, 

 satisfied that they were in full retreat, gave up the pursuit. 



They went back to the yacht, where Jimmy changed his 

 clothes, and then went on to the broad by the proper 

 channel. 



Their object in visiting this broad was to find the nest of the 

 bearded tit, which Bell had told them bred there in great 

 numbers. This beautiful little bird is now becoming very rare. 

 Its home is among the reed-beds of Norfolk and Suffolk, but it 

 has been so shot down wholesale by bird-stuffers, and its eggs 

 collected for sale, that it has become exceedingly rare. It is a 

 very pretty bird, having a long tail, fawn-coloured back, and 

 white belly, but its distinguishing feature is that it has a pair of 

 moustaches in the shape of black tufts of feathers depending 

 from either side of its mouth. Very properly, too, it is only 

 the males which have this appearance. In Norfolk it is called 

 the reed pheasant. It is very interesting to see a flock of them 

 flitting about the reeds. Like all the tit family, they are very 

 lively, jerking up and down the reed-stems in all sorts of 

 positions, and as often as not with their heads down and their 

 tails up. 



Apart from the open water of the broad, there were numerous 

 channels among the reeds which latter rose to the height of 

 seven or eight feet above the water. Along these channels the 

 boys made their way, listening attentively to the chirping of the 

 birds, which they could hear but not see. By keeping very 

 still they could at length distinguish two or three of the birds 

 they sought, flitting about the reeds, and by the aid of their 

 glass they could perceive the birds with great distinctness. 

 The movements of one bird' led them to its nest, and pushing 

 their way with some difficulty they were fortunate enough 

 to find it. It was built of dry stems of grass and sedges, and 

 was placed about a foot from the ground (or water, for it 

 was a compound of both), in the midst of a thick clump of 

 reeds. It contained five eggs as large as those of a great tit, 

 pi iktsh-white in colour, spotted and streaked with reddish 

 Drown, something like those of a yellow-hammer. While they 

 were debating how many of the eggs they should take, Frank 

 saw a tit fly from a tuft of reeds a few yards off, and on going 

 there they found another nest with four eggs in it. This was 



