20O Wild Life in Wales 



activity ; and that they are abroad even during the hours of 

 darkness is amply attested by many a country swain, who, 

 in other counties besides Merionethshire, has often been 

 startled by the scream of witch, or cythrawl, as he wended 

 his way homewards late in the evening. Cregyr, and 

 Crechydd y common Welsh names for the bird, both denote a 

 screamer ; but the designation always in use at Llanuwchllyn 

 is CrSyr glas, recalling the Gaelic Chorra-ghlas ; and when a 

 native wishes to display his knowledge of English he speaks 

 of the bird as a " Grey Crane." There was a story current 

 of one young farmer in the neighbourhood, who arrived 

 home late, with a discoloured eye to corroborate his tale of 

 an encounter he had had with a Gwrachydd-y-rhybin * at 

 a certain ford, and who attributed his escape only to his 

 having turned back and taken a circuitous route over the 

 hill. The curious part of the story was that his dog, which 

 had already crossed the stream, was found "dead and 

 swollen " in the water next morning. The explanation, or 

 the sequel to the tale (if it had one) I did not hear ; but my 

 informant had evidently no doubts about the Spirit in the 

 case, for, with a shrug of the shoulders, he summed the 

 matter up as " Two mens, one girl, some goat's 2 milk, and 

 a poison, I think " ! 



As an instance of the keen sight of the Heron, and the 

 faculty birds possess of recognising a friend at an almost 

 incredible distance, the following may be of interest : I 

 was one morning, in April, watching a Heron quietly 

 winging its way over the village, at no great height, when 

 it abruptly altered its course, began to call at frequent 

 intervals, and to circle upwards in a narrow spiral with 

 apparently all the haste it could command. I thought at 

 first that it must have been alarmed by a Falcon, and 

 looked anxiously round in the remote hope that I might 

 be about to witness a chase, but an even more interesting 

 sight was in store ; for, far up above, a mere speck in the 

 sky, another Heron presently appeared, sailing round, and 

 descending to meet its comrade. The second bird was so 

 high, that it seemed scarcely possible that any cry that had 



1 A species of witch, or spirit. 2 " The Goat" is an Inn in the village. 



