AUGUST IN THE MARSHES. 



427 



not secured. Several common snipe were also shot — these 

 facts afford " food for reflection ! " 



During the shooting, the air was alive with birds ; 

 besides ducks, there were herons of all sorts — old and 

 young — egrets, white spoonbills, night-herons — many 

 young ones, brown and speckled like bitterns — together 

 with crested and eared grebes, dabchicks, terns, coots and 

 pratincoles in thousands ; while above all, sailed files of 

 glossy ibis with curious barking croaks, several cormorants, 

 and a string of cranes. 



Among miscellaneous birds shot were most of the above, 

 with little bitterns, various rails and one purple waterhen, 

 little gulls, whimbrels (?) and bar-tailed godwit. 



It is worth adding that a dead bird, left floating, was 

 completely devoured in less than five minutes by water- 

 beetles (Di/ticKs), which hollowed out the body and left 

 nothing but empty skin and feathers ! One felt that, had 

 one the bad luck to get bogged, these creatures were 

 capable of making aw^ay with a man well under half an 

 hour. 



