no A BIRD COLLECTOR'S MEDLEY. 



Where the pools were deeper the only method of progression was by a series of 

 precarious leaps along the tussocks ; and where the reeds were uncut it was 

 almost useless to try and advance at all. 



After a short rest we commenced our search. To our intense surprise 

 Swallowtails swarmed on all sides, and we could have obtained literally 

 any number of specimens; but they were quite alone in their glory not a 

 single other. sort of butterfly was to be seen. The first nest found was that 

 of a Snipe, which rose almost under our feet, and disclosed four eggs of 

 a very dark colour. Several other Snipe were visible high up in the air, 

 drumming and uttering their bleating note, mingled with the wild " pee weet " 

 of the Lapwings, which were also breeding in some numbers on the Fen. 

 Redshanks, too, are said to patronize it, but their eggs are very difficult to 

 discover. The find of the day was a Kestrel's nest. The eggs, as is not 

 unusual in this locality, were placed in a scantily lined hollow in the 

 sedge, and we thought at first that they were Merlins'. We found, in 

 addition, nests of the Turtle-Dove, Sedge-Warbler, Reed-Bunting, Bullfinch, 

 and Redpoll, but were too early for those of the Reed-Warbler, birds which 

 swarmed in every dyke. 



While resting a few minutes from our exertions, our attention was 

 suddenly attracted by a loud "chirring" noise, proceeding from a clump of 

 sedge and willows two or three hundred yards away. We instantly 

 recognized it as the note of the Grasshopper- Warbler, and, advancing 

 cautiously, we obtained a distant view of the bird itself; but long and 

 diligently as we searched, we failed to discover its nest, though a friend, 

 who went rather later, found two, one in the side of a clump of sedge, the 

 other almost on the ground. There is no mistaking the eggs, which are 

 speckled so closely with tiny red spots that in many the ground colour at the 

 larger end is quite obscured. The shade of red varies considerably, being in 

 some cases light pink, in others almost the hue of cocoa. It was now 

 growing dark, so we returned to the inn, and after a plain but hearty meal 

 set " Wildfire " once more in motion, and arrived at Cambridge without 

 further mishap. 



Far different were the visits I used to make to the Fen in winter. It 

 was such cold work driving, that we generally walked from Waterbeach 

 along the river, there being just the chance of meeting with some Duck or 

 Snipe on the way. At times Gulls frequented it, especially the Lesser 

 Black-headed, and Grey Crows were almost always to be seen. It was 

 the custom to put up the shooting, over a portion of the Fen, for auction 

 at a local inn, the bidding being allowed to continue until a wax match 



