THE BEARDED TIT 223 



lectors to visit that favoured quarter. Although 

 we are ourselves egg-collectors in a judicious way, 

 we resolved before starting that if we had the good 

 fortune to find any Bearded Tits' Nests, or other 

 birds' nests equally rare, we would not take even 

 one of their eggs, feeling that such birds are already 

 sufficiently rare, and that if ever they became 

 actually extinct in this country as indeed was 

 rumoured to be the case with the Bearded Tit a 

 few years ago we should not be responsible for 

 having hastened that calamity. 



After anchoring for the night we went for a 

 short row in the punts, two of which we had with 

 us. Before we had proceeded many hundred 

 yards, we were delighted by hearing the unmis- 

 takable note of the Bearded Tit from the middle 

 of an extensive reed-bed ; and presently we saw 

 a pair with their brood flying from reed to reed. 

 These soon disappeared among the clusters of 

 reed-clumps which were tall and thick in that part 

 of the marsh. Afterwards we found several Sedge- 

 Warblers' nests, these being very common ; the 

 birds, together with the Reed- Warbler, could be 

 heard singing all around. 



On June 1st we discovered the first Bearded 

 Tit's nest in a thick bed of reeds growing in deep 

 water, and containing five eggs. This was made of 



