156 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



was hoping to meet with. Here I found these great Warblers in 

 some numbers, and listened to perhaps half a score or more in 

 the limited space I explored. The place was a veritable strong- 

 hold for the birds, as, in the absence of a boat, one could not 

 hope to reach a nest, or indeed get very close to the birds. But 

 the loud croaking song could be listened to easily, and could be 

 heard from afar. Not much less conspicuous were the birds 

 themselves, with their dull brown upper parts, reddish-brown 

 tail, and whitish under parts (the contrast between the colours of 

 the head and back and the tail is not very obvious in dried skins, 

 but it is remarkable in the living bird), for they often perched on 

 an upper willow twig, quite high up, or on a flag or reed stem in 

 an open spot. The Great Reed Warbler sits, when singing, in a 

 very upright position, with the point of its bill raised, the bill 

 open as it sings, and the throat throbbing and swelled so that 

 the small feathers part, showing their dusky bases, and the bird 

 appears almost to possess a dusky gular spot. It is a restless, 

 bold, and noisy bird at this season, and often takes flight from 

 bush to bush. The song is very remarkable. The likeness of 

 some notes in it, in character, to those of a Frog is very striking, 

 although they do not exactly resemble those of any kind of Frog 

 with which I am acquainted. The bird's notes are chiefly 

 grating, and often have a guttural tone. These are some notes 

 and phrases which I wrote down : — " Gurk gurk gurk ; gurruck 

 gurruck gurruck ; ick ick ick ick ; gik gik gik (shrill and squeaky) ; 

 ajik ajik ajik ; jirp jirp jirp ik ik ; garra garra geek (last note 

 high, and the g hard) ; gak gak karry karry (the last two notes 

 high). Two or three Reed Warblers (Acrocephalus streperus) 

 sang in their leisurely way in some of the thicker willows. 

 Edible Frogs (Rana esculenta) in great numbers croaked their 

 loud harsh grating cries, or splashed noisily into the water from 

 spots where they had been sunning themselves. On the grassy 

 land between the pools and the Meuse several Blue-headed Wag- 

 tails ran after insects, or rose with their plaintive " wich-ooo " or 

 "wich-eee" as I passed. Sedge Warblers, haunting the ditch 

 below the river bank, contributed their hurried song, and a few 

 Sky-Larks and Whinchats made up the bird-life in evidence, 

 although visions of small species of the genus Porzana and some 

 more secret Warblers made me long for a boat and a week's 



