82 Summer Studies of Birds and Books chap. 



some coign of vantage, and indulge in his faculty of 

 mimicry, — meditating his song, as it were, — " What 

 shall I try next ? " Later in the day he seems more 

 restless, and flies further afield ; while in the earlier 

 hours he sings as a rule so close to the nest that it is 

 then often quite easy to find. 



And thus indeed it was that a few days later (27th 

 June) we found a beautiful nest in a place which 

 I would recommend to every one who would make 

 acquaintance with this delightful bird. We had 

 crossed the mountains from Meiringen to Engelberg, 

 spending on our way three most profitable days at 

 the Engstlen Alp, the favourite summer home of 

 many interesting species ; and from Engelberg we 

 descended to the Lake of Lucerne at Stanzstadt, which 

 stands on that arm of the lake from which Pilatus 

 rises precipitously. Just outside this village is a 

 long tract of reedy ground, such as in the north of 

 England they would call a moss, quaking somewhat 

 as you walk on it, but really quite safe and dry, 

 except at the margin of the lake, where it imper- 

 ceptibly slips into shallow water. This tract shows 

 here and there large bunches of meadowsweet and 

 other tall plants, and among these you wiU. never 

 fail in June to hear the bird you look for. In such a 

 little thicket of meadowsweet, at about eight o'clock 

 in the morning, we that day heard a splendid singer ; 

 and after listening for a few minutes while he sang 



