324 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



Before leaving we found nests of Purple Herons and Common 

 Herons, both containing young birds, and eggs of the Great Reed 

 Warbler, and on reaching my host's house I seized the oppor- 

 tunity, almost in the dusk of the evening, of photographing a 

 Stork's nest in his grounds, in case I did not get another chance. 

 I was very glad afterwards that I did so, for I only saw one 

 other nest during five days in Holland, and that was near the 

 Hague, from the windows of the passing train. Both were built 

 on the summit of tall poles fixed upright in the ground, on which 

 a cartwheel had been fastened. I heard, however, of another a 

 few miles distant, though I believe they are not so common as 

 is generally supposed. 



The one here figured contained two young nearly able to fly 

 and one of the old birds, which is standing in the characteristic 

 and traditional manner on one leg. While I was there I only saw 

 one old bird, for as soon as one appeared the other went off for 

 food. It was a fitting close to this my first day on Dutch soil, 

 to watch the birds silhouetted against the evening sky as we sat 

 out in the beautiful grounds after dinner, enjoying with the zest 

 of novelty their quaint and contemplative postures, recalling the 

 events of the past hours and planning a journey to a distant 

 locality where the Avocets still breed, together with Ruffs, God- 

 wits, Oystercatchers, and Sheldrakes. 



A NATURALIST'S JOURNAL IN HOLLAND AND 

 BELGIUM. 



By 0. V. Aplin, F.L.S. 



We arrived at the Hook of Holland early in the morning of 

 Sept. 26th, 1895, and proceeded up the Maas to Rotterdam, where 

 a few Black-headed, Herring, and Common Gulls were to be seen. 



At Rotterdam we stayed until the 29th, making various 

 excursions by river and canal to Delft, Dordrecht, Amblasserdam, 

 &c; but there was very little bird-life of interest to be seen. 

 I only noted twenty species of birds, the most interesting being 

 the Crested Lark (Alauda cristata), which I saw in some of the 

 fields. This bird has been occasionally recorded as occurring in 

 England, and some doubt has been occasionally expressed as to 

 the identity of the species (cf. Zool. 1895, p. 451). I am inclined 



