288 THE YORKSHIRE FEN 



drop of water for ballast in its curve, catches the wind 

 at every gust, and sails among the lesser craft and 

 dances on the ripples like some miniature yacht. 



The pheasants and partridges also visit the stream to 

 drink, though not to bathe. Hidden near one of their 

 favourite drinking-places, the writer has more than 

 once observed the care and anxiety which the wild 

 pheasant exhibits when bringing her brood to the water. 

 Men are so rarely seen upon the " carrs," that her fears 

 must be due, not to the danger from human interference, 

 but to the attacks of the hawks and magpies, foxes and 

 stoats, which enjoy almost the same freedom from 

 disturbance as the other wild creatures of the fen. The 

 pheasants invariably approach the stream from a wood 

 near by a long hedgerow, which runs down to the water, 

 and gives complete protection from winged enemies. 

 The old bird then ascends the bank, and after some 

 moments spent in surveying the neighbourhood with 

 head erect and motionless, she descends and drinks, 

 raising her head like a fowl after each draught. A low 

 call then summons the brood, who descend in turn, 

 while the old bird once more mounts guard. If dis- 

 turbed, the whole brood run into the fence, with a 

 speed and silence more to be expected from some nimble 

 four-footed animal than in a bold and strong-flying 

 bird like the wild pheasant. The partridges, on the 

 contrary, drink at the most open spots, flying in a body 

 with much noise and calling to the waters, and returning 

 as hastily when their thirst is satisfied. By nine o'clock 

 the "carrs" are almost deserted by the birds. The 



