﻿22 
  THE 
  ZOOLOGIST. 
  

  

  Partridges. 
  The 
  Corn-Crake 
  abounds, 
  as 
  it 
  does 
  everywhere 
  in 
  

   Anglesea. 
  

  

  The 
  Moorhen 
  is 
  common 
  in 
  the 
  bogs 
  and 
  round 
  the 
  llyns, 
  

   and 
  we 
  saw 
  Coots 
  on 
  four 
  of 
  the 
  small 
  lakes 
  — 
  Llyn 
  Frogwy, 
  

   Llyn 
  Geirian, 
  Llyn 
  Hafodol, 
  and 
  the 
  llyn 
  near 
  Llanfaethlu. 
  On 
  

   the 
  first 
  three 
  of 
  these 
  waters, 
  on 
  Llyn 
  Bolgolched, 
  and 
  on 
  the 
  

   pool 
  in 
  Cors 
  Ddraenog, 
  we 
  either 
  saw 
  the 
  Dabchick, 
  or 
  heard 
  

   its 
  chattering 
  cry. 
  A 
  pair 
  or 
  two 
  of 
  Common 
  Sandpipers 
  nest 
  

   on 
  the 
  margin 
  of 
  most 
  of 
  these 
  llyns. 
  On 
  a 
  rocky 
  mound 
  by 
  a 
  

   shallow 
  llyn 
  near 
  Llanfflewyn, 
  we 
  found 
  a 
  nest 
  containing 
  two 
  

   newly 
  hatched 
  young, 
  with 
  the 
  egg-shells 
  lying 
  near 
  them. 
  The 
  

   nest 
  — 
  little 
  more 
  than 
  a 
  scratched-out 
  hollow 
  — 
  was 
  under 
  some 
  

   gorse, 
  and 
  was 
  so 
  well 
  concealed 
  that 
  we 
  only 
  discovered 
  it 
  when 
  

   we 
  flushed 
  the 
  female. 
  She 
  did 
  not 
  resort 
  to 
  the 
  customary 
  

   simulated 
  disability 
  to 
  divert 
  our 
  attention, 
  but 
  joined 
  the 
  male, 
  

   who 
  was 
  piping 
  anxiously 
  hard 
  by, 
  and 
  evinced 
  her 
  anxiety 
  by 
  

   piping 
  intermittently 
  so 
  long 
  as 
  we 
  were 
  in 
  the 
  vicinity 
  of 
  the 
  

   nest. 
  

  

  Snipe-bogs 
  are 
  characteristic 
  of 
  inland 
  Anglesea. 
  Some 
  

   attempts 
  have 
  been 
  made 
  to 
  drain 
  most 
  of 
  these 
  wild 
  marshes, 
  

   and 
  often 
  the 
  only 
  paths 
  by 
  which 
  one 
  can 
  cross 
  them 
  are 
  the 
  

   heaps 
  of 
  dried 
  mud, 
  taken 
  from 
  and 
  bordering 
  the 
  ditches. 
  

   Much 
  of 
  the 
  bog-land 
  is 
  now 
  coarse 
  pasture, 
  grazed 
  by 
  long- 
  

   horned 
  black 
  cattle, 
  but 
  large 
  tracts 
  still 
  defy 
  all 
  attempts 
  to 
  

   reclaim 
  them. 
  Undoubtedly 
  the 
  Snipe 
  is 
  the 
  sporting 
  bird 
  of 
  the 
  

   island, 
  for 
  not 
  only 
  does 
  it 
  swarm 
  in 
  the 
  bogs, 
  but 
  it 
  is 
  abun- 
  

   dant 
  in 
  the 
  many 
  wet, 
  rush-grown 
  fields. 
  When 
  we 
  crossed 
  the 
  

   bogs 
  the 
  "chipper-chipper" 
  and 
  the 
  bleat 
  of 
  the 
  drumming 
  

   birds 
  were 
  constant 
  sounds 
  ; 
  Snipe 
  were 
  everywhere. 
  On 
  May 
  

   27th 
  we 
  found 
  young 
  birds 
  just 
  able 
  to 
  fly 
  ; 
  but 
  a 
  few 
  days 
  later 
  

   we 
  came 
  across 
  two 
  which 
  had 
  no 
  wing-quills 
  showing. 
  The 
  

   single 
  old 
  bird 
  in 
  charge 
  of 
  these 
  young 
  ones 
  rose 
  when 
  we 
  

   approached, 
  crying 
  skeap, 
  skeap, 
  then 
  mounting 
  high 
  in 
  the 
  

   air, 
  commenced 
  to 
  drum. 
  A 
  few 
  moments 
  later 
  it 
  came 
  down 
  

   and 
  passed 
  us 
  repeatedly, 
  flying 
  just 
  clear 
  of 
  the 
  ground, 
  but 
  

   making 
  no 
  sound. 
  The 
  young 
  were 
  bright 
  chestnut-brown, 
  

   broadly 
  striped 
  dorsally 
  with 
  black 
  bands, 
  and 
  the 
  plumules 
  of 
  

   these 
  bands 
  were 
  tipped 
  with 
  silvery 
  white, 
  giving 
  the 
  black 
  a 
  

   frosted 
  appearance. 
  The 
  head, 
  wings 
  and 
  thighs 
  were 
  trans- 
  

  

  