" OLD KITTIWAKE." 187 



Kittiwake was full of straDge lore about 

 birds, and tbe wild sea-fowl and waders he 

 loved best. He remembered the breeding- 

 haunts of Ruffs and Reeves, and would tell of 

 their strange fights at pairing. When he was 

 a lad, Bitterns not only boomed in the bog, but 

 bred there ; and he had once, though only once, 

 seen a Great Bustard. It was in a field of 

 young wheat, and stood as high as one of the 

 fawns in Honeybee "Woods. The 'Squire shot 

 the great bird, and the folk flocked to see it 

 from miles round. 



In his own rough way he was an admirable 

 naturalist, and whenever a more than usually 

 rare wader struck his nets he was careful to 

 preserve it. He was a complete master of the 

 art of setting gins and springes, and the primi- 

 tive contrivances he had for taking shore-birds 

 were almost as numerous as the species for 

 whose capture they were designed. Indeed, 

 his great success lay in the fact that he was 

 a close and accurate observer. He carefully 

 noted the haunts and habits of wild-fowl, then 

 set his nets and hair-nooses by the light of 

 his acquired knowledge. In winter, Snipe 

 were always numerous on the mosses which 



