38 OUR RARER BRITISH BREEDING BIRDS. 



feet and body, and the materials with which she 

 covers them whenever she has the necessary time, 

 before leaving her nest. Although the eggs shown 

 in one of our illustrations were covered as in- 

 dicated, in the other, when we arrived on the scene, 

 the one laid last could be easily picked out from 

 the rest by reason of its much cleaner condition. 



The photographs from which the pictures have 

 been reproduced were obtained under the most 

 difficult circumstances. The nest was situated 

 near the middle of a wide Suffolk dyke, and the 

 wind was blowing hard and cold, rendering a 

 stand hip-deep and a long journey to dry clothes 

 prospectively unpleasant ; so we procured a long 

 plank, stretched it across the dyke, and whilst my 

 brother and Last Farman shielded the reeds from 

 the wind with a large travelling rug, I secured 

 some studies. Once when an uncommonly strong 

 gust of wind struck the rug and its holders, they 

 had the narrowest escape possible of falling head- 

 first off their plank into the water. They would 

 undoubtedly have gone, had not my brother saved 

 the situation by letting go his end of the rug 

 and thus spilling the wind. 



A Water-hen had her nest within two or three 

 feet of that of the Little Grebe, and some of her 

 chicks were enjoying themselves amongst the sur- 

 rounding reeds, whilst others were making their 

 wants known, in weak and plaintive notes, from 

 chipped eggs. 



The Dabchick bred some years ago on the 

 Round Pond in Kensington Gardens, according to 

 the veteran ornithologist, Mr. Harting ; and until 

 quite recently in Wanstead Park. 



