444 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



vain. First of all I began with a long string attached to the 

 shutter of a well-hidden camera, while I waited at a distance 

 with reeds tied all round my waist. Then the electric camera 

 was tried, and, though this went off several times, I was afraid 

 to trust to it alone. My misgivings proved to be too well 

 founded. They were only nearly successful, but something or 

 other always happened to spoil them. Then an empty nest was 

 found rather high up in the reeds about fifteen yards from a 

 likely nest containing two young ones. Crouching behind this 

 empty nest, I spent two days of nine and ten hours each, hardly 

 daring to move, in water up to my coat-pockets. And when they 

 did at last visit the nest they were very suspicious, sometimes 

 only showing up through the reeds behind the nest, and several 

 times left without feeding their young at all, and sometimes 

 hovered over the nest without alighting. On these occasions the 

 young became very excited and clamorous, constantly uttering a 

 cry which sounded exactly like " be quick, be quick," repeated 

 many times. In this cry of "be quick" I thoroughly sympa- 

 thised ; I knew the poor little beasts were hungry, and so was I, 

 and tired of waiting in such an uncomfortable position. Besides, 

 the leeches had got into my boots, and through the holes in my 

 breeches made by the reeds, while I was losing blood all the time ; 

 for my wading-trousers had been cut literally to ribbons days 

 before at the beginning of the search, and I had received several 

 nasty stabs in the face, uncomfortably near my eyes, from the 

 broken ends of reeds while forcing my way through them. But 

 eventually four or five photographs were obtained of these timid 

 birds at close quarters, just in time for me to rush off and catch 

 the steamer for Fiume on the following day, on my way to the 

 Dobrudscha after Pelecanus onocrotalus. 



Note. — It is hardly correct to describe the beak of alba as 

 black during breeding season, and feet blackish. The base of 

 the beak is yellow, which runs to a point on each side of upper 

 mandible and to the bottom of lower mandible, leaving top edge 

 of upper and sides of lower mandible black. The tibia is yellow ; 

 foot black in front and back, with yellowish stripe along the 

 sides as far as the toes, which are greenish black. Iris chrome- 

 yellow ; bare skin round eyes green. 



