SOME BIRDS OF THE STREAM 75 



rank grass and tangled herbage, but the Reed Warbler's 

 nest is cunningly suspended between three or four 

 reeds. Both birds lay four or five eggs, but we have 

 known half a dozen in the case of the former. The 

 Sedge Warbler's eggs are of a yellowish white colour, 

 spotted and freckled with different shades of brownish 

 yellow, sometimes with a few streaks of very dark 

 sienna brown usually at the larger end. Sometimes 

 the markings obscure the ground colour entirely ; in 

 other eggs the spots are few and well defined. The 

 Reed Warbler's eggs, on the other hand, are greenish 

 white, with blotches and spots of olive brown and 

 greenish grey, with underlying markings of grey. 



The familiar Waterhen we shall certainly find in 

 more or less numbers on most rivers, and the Wye 

 forms no exception to this. Many nests are washed 

 away in flood-time, but nothing daunted, our Water- 

 hen starts again on a fresh home. The eggs, as 

 every one knows, are large for the size of the bird, 

 and are remarkably good eating. 



We have known the shy Water- rail to breed in 

 close proximity to the river, but the broads and reed- 

 fringed pools are his sanctuary, and here we may be 

 fortunate enough to stumble across his rough nest. 

 Indeed, this is a nest that we find more by accident 

 than design. 



Many Duck of different kinds frequent the stream 

 too, especially in winter, from the spot in some wild 

 mountain, where it starts a tiny " prill " to where it 

 dashes into the ocean a mighty salmon river. The 

 ordinary Mallard, or Wild Duck, frequently nests in 

 its close proximity, though often miles from a river 



