44 Wild Life in Wales 



insuperable suspicion of danger that has made the Coot so 

 valuable an index to the quietude of the water it frequents. 

 The keeper, on his rounds, is quick to learn that no poach- 

 ing is to be feared where the Heron is standing sentinel by 

 the stream ; and where Water-Hens are grazing on the 

 banks, or Coots diving in the near offing, he may rest 

 equally assured of the undisturbed slumber of his wild 

 ducks upon the lake, for than these he has not many more 

 efficient " watchers " on his staff. How aptly Hood has 

 made use of these symbols of restfulness : 



" The coot was swimming in the reedy pond, 



Beside the water-hen so soon affrighted. 

 And in the weedy moat the heron, fond 

 Of solitude, alighted. 



" The moping heron, motionless and stiff, 

 That on a stone, as silently and stilly, 

 Stood, an apparent sentinel, as if 

 To guard the water-lily." 



Golden-eyes always took wing when I showed myself, 

 and Tufted Ducks almost as invariably, though they were 

 seldom so prompt to rise as the last, and frequently swam 

 for a few yards, uttering croaks of alarm, before doing so. 

 Pochards, on the other hand, generally refrained from flying, 

 however nearly approached, unless on those rare occasions 

 when they happened to be sitting on land. Then, they 

 could scarcely do otherwise than fly, but on the water they 

 generally swam away, nor did they usually go very far. 

 Sometimes, if I remained still and kept out of sight, they 

 would drift back to their old feeding ground, within half 

 an hour, never having been more than a hundred yards 

 away at farthest. They, too, express their alarm by low 

 croaking. The croak of the Golden-eye resembles that of 

 these other diving ducks, but is pitched in a slightly higher 

 key, another note may more closely be likened to a short 

 harsh quack. 



The difference in the whirr, or " whistle " made by the 

 wings of the various kinds of ducks is also very marked. 



