14 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
wings, 3 feet 43 inches. July 18th, 4 feet 24 inches. On 
the 24th September, the expanse of wings was 4 feet 53 inches, 
and the down had disappeared altogether, except a few sprays 
on the head, the crown of which, with the chin, was of a rich 
chesnut. The irides light hazel-brown; the rest of the body, 
wings, and tail, dusky black; most of the feathers tipped with 
light chesnut-brown, and some on the shoulders and nape 
margined with this colour. The upper tail-coverts are lighter 
and the tips more reddish. The pellets ejected by the young 
birds before they had been fed artificially consisted mostly of 
mouse and rat-hairs, mixed with small bones, bits of beetle wing- 
cases, and seeds of plants; the last probably from the intestines 
of the rats. 
We had rather an unpleasant rencontre on one oceasion with 
some fishermen who tenant one of the islands of the Hollandsch 
Diep, on which we had landed. It was raining in torrents, and 
after fighting our way for some time through reed-beds soaking 
wet, and losing ourselves in a willow-swamp, we hailed with joy a 
well-made footpath, at the end of which we suddenly came upon 
an elaborate decoy for wild ducks. Never having seen any of our 
English ones, I am unable to say whether they are constructed on 
a similar principle, but this one consisted of perhaps an acre of - 
open water fringed with trees and bushes, and with a “pipe” at 
each of the four corners. These “pipes” were arranged, so to 
say, in two pairs, each pair leading in a curve along the north and 
south sides of the pond, until their apices nearly met. I had 
walked round and examined the ‘pipes,’ and was watching a 
small flock of ducks which were on the water, when I heard a 
shout from my companion, and going to him, found him being 
most menacingly accosted by two Dutchmen, whose excited 
words, though unintelligible to us, evidently expressed some 
very forcible ideas. We were trespassers, there was no doubt, 
and looked upon with great suspicion, which was not much 
allayed by our endeavours to indicate our pursuits by displaying 
the entomological collecting-boxes. Unable to muster sufficient 
Dutch to explain our peaceable intentions, we parted from our 
sulky companions, who professed to point out the way to our boat; 
but to make a long story short, we followed their directions until 
we were regularly fast in swamp and tangled willow, and with a 
rapidly rising tide. They then came to us in a boat, and gave us 
