PLATE LXXVII, 
The Reeve. 
The Reeve raeafures ten inches, the breadth nineteen : the weight of the former, when juft taken, 
is feven ounces and a half; and of the latter only four. The Reeves never change their colour, 
which are pale brown ; the back fpotted with black, flightly edged with white ; the tail brown, the 
middle feathers fpotted with black ; the breafl and belly white ; the legs of a pale dull yellow. 
Thefe birds appear in the fens in the earlieft fpring, and difappear about Michaelmas. The Reeves 
lay four eggs in a tuft of grafs, the firll week in May, and fit about a month : the eggs are white, 
marked with large rufty fpots. Fowlers avoid, in general, the taking of the females, not only becaufe 
they are fmaller than the males, but that they may be left to breed. Soon after their arrival the 
males begin to hill ; that is, to collefl on fome dry bank, near a fplafh of water, in expeftation of 
the females, who refort to them. Each male keeps polTeirion of a fmall piece of ground, which it 
runs round till the grafs is worn quite away, and nothing but a naked circle is left. When a female 
lights the Ruffs immediately fall to fighting. I find a vulgar error, that Ruffs mufl be fed in the 
dark, left they fhould deftroy each other by fighting on admiffion of light. The truth is, every 
bird takes its fland in the room as it would in the open fen : if another invades its circle, an attack 
is made, and battle enfues ; they make ufe of the fame aftion in fighting as a cock, place their bills 
to the ground, and fpread their ruffs. I have fet a whole room full a fighting, by making them 
move their flations ; and, after quitting the place, by peeping through a crevice, feen them refume 
their circles, and grow pacific. When a fowler difcovers one of thofe hills, he places his net over- 
night ; which is of the fame kind as thofe that are called clap or day nets, only it is generally fingle, 
and is about fourteen yards long and four broad. — The fowler reforts to his fland, at day-break, at 
the diflance of one, two, three, or four hundred yards from the nets, according to the time of the 
feafon : for the later it is the fhyer the birds grow. He then makes his firfl pull, taking fuch birds as 
he finds within reach : after that he places his ftuft birds, or flales, to intice thofe that are continually 
traverfing the fen. An old fowler told me he once caught forty-four birds at one haul ; and, in all, 
fix dozen that morning. When the flales are fet, feldom more than two or three are taken at a 
time. A fowler will take forty or fifty dozen in a feafon. — Thefe birds are found in Lincolnfliire, 
the Ifie of Ely, and in the Eafl Riding of Yorkfhire * ; where they are taken in nets, and fattened for 
the table with bread and milk, hemp-feed, and fometimes boiled wheat ; but if expedition is required 
fugar is added, which will make them, in a fortnight's time, a lump of fat. They then fell for two 
fhillings, and two fhillings and fix-pence a-piece. Judgment is required in taking the proper time 
for killing them, when they are at the highefl pitch of fatnefs ; if that is negle£led the birds are apt 
to fall away. The method of killing them is by cutting off their heads with a pair of fcilTars : the 
quantity of blood that iffues is very great, confidering the fize of the bird : they are dreffed like the 
Woodcock with their intefl;ines, and when killed at the critical time, fay the epicures, are reckoned 
the mofl delicious of all morfels. Pennant's Defcription. 
o 
* They vifit a place called Marlin Merc, in Lancadiire, tlie latter end of March or beginning of April ; but do not continue 
there above three weeks. 
