MERULID.E. 57 



them by destroying vast numbers of the water 

 insects and larvse which prey upon the ova." He 

 gives the result of the dissection of more than forty 

 examples examined by himself, Mr. Gould and 

 others, many of which were killed on the spawning 

 beds in various rivers. Of all these birds the 

 stomach of one only contained a single fish's egg, 

 and that was a diseased one. To these remarks may 

 be added, I believe, the fact that the spawn of both 

 salmon and trout are so covered by the sand and 

 grit on the spawning beds that it is impossible for 

 the Water Ouzel to get at it, although to crawling 

 water insects, which form the principal food of the 

 bird, it is found to be readily accessible. 



The food of the Water Ouzel consists principally 

 of beetles, the larvae of flies, fresh-water shrimps 

 and other aquatic insects, and occasionally small 

 fish. I have quoted rather largely on the subject of 

 the food of this bird, in the hope that the more 

 publicity that is given to the various enquiries that 

 have been made, and to their results, the greater 

 probability there would be of the ill-judged persecu- 

 tion against this interesting bird being put a stop 

 to, and thus prevent its becoming entirely extinct. 



The beak of the Water Ouzel is brownish black ; 

 irides hazel ; margin of the eyelids white ; head and 

 neck brown ; rest of the upper parts lead-colour, 

 each feather edged with darker, almost black ; throat 

 and breast white ; next to the white a bay band 



