OTHER TESTIMONY. 61 



well know, attracted by it. It is, moreover 

 an illogical conclusion, that, because a bird 

 is seen on the spawning-beds, it therefore 

 eats the spawn. We want a third premise 

 in the syllogism. The poor water-ouzel may, 

 therefore, after all, be the friend, not the 

 enemy, of the proprietors of fisheries. — P. B."] 

 "Having seen a water-ouzel visiting my 

 hatching ponds, I shot it, and subsequently I 

 killed three more near a natural spawning-bed. 

 After dissecting these birds I found one ovum 

 just devoured, but as it was not of the healthy 

 pink colour, but was white, I suppose that 

 the ouzel had picked it out, not for the sake 

 of the roe, but for some insect which at the 

 time was feeding upon the egg. The gizzards 

 contained nothing besides remnants of insects. 

 The bill of the ouzel not being formed for 



