THE POLEGATE WOODS. ro5 



at least such, I believe, to have been the history of a bird whose nest I once 

 found, with one egg in it. I put the bird up, found the nest, and left it. But 

 when, some days after, I was passing the same spot and looked in upon them, 

 I was surprised to find the egg gone, while some tell-tale Nightjar feathers, 

 scattered around what had been the nest, bore witness to a tragedy of the 

 woods. 



The Nightjar, when flushed, is said to fly usually to the nearest oak, and 

 settle lengthwise on a branch; but one that I started pitched on a thin twig, 

 where it sat crosswise, balancing itself somewhat awkwardly, a position which 



A HAUNT OF BUTTERFLIES. 



made its head look monstrous and out of all proportion to the size of its 

 body. As is the case with the Stone-Curlew in districts where they are to 

 be found, the natives always tell you that there are " dozens " about in the 

 evening as soon as it gets dark ; but the fact is that even a pair of Stone- 

 Curlews or Nightjars gyrating about and screaming or jarring in the dusk 

 will suggest the presence of quite half a dozen birds, and all statements as 

 to numbers based on what has been seen after dark should always be 

 accepted with reserve. I fancy two pairs of Nightjars are the utmost that 

 any of these clearings could produce. 



Woods of any sort are, in the main, sorry places for Warblers. I have 

 often sought in vain for the Wood-Wren, spurred on at times by rumours 



