CHAPTER IV. 



BIRD-LIFE OF LAKE, SWAMP, AND REED BED. 



ALTHOUGH Devonshire cannot be regarded in 

 any sense as a county of lakes, there are several 

 very respectable sheets of fresh water locally 

 known as "Leys," whilst some of the rivers, 

 notably the Dart, are so winding and land-locked 

 as to resemble chains of lakes ; then the broad 

 estuaries often extending up country for miles 

 are not unlike miniature lakes, or inland seas. 

 Of swamps and reed beds the county, so well 

 watered as it is, has its fair share. All these 

 places are favoured haunts of birds, and can 

 favourably compare with similar localities in 

 other parts of the country. 



One of the most remarkable of these fresh- 

 water lakes is the far-famed Slapton Ley, situated 

 in Start Bay, between Dartmouth and Start Point. 

 It is one of the most interesting sheets of water 



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