Chirps and 
Chatter. 
(181) THE BIRD WORLD. 
The Water Ouzel. 
Much attention has lately been drawn 
to the Water Ouzel, and much corre¬ 
spondence has taken place in the Press 
as to their food. A most interesting 
letter is from a correspondent at Lauder. 
He says:—Whilst watching the trout 
rising in the Leader yesterday afternoon 
at Lauder Bridge, my attention was 
called to the doings of a Water Ouzel at 
the river side. In ten minutes he dived 
under the water three times, remaining 
below for the space of about ten seconds 
each time, thus confirming to the writer 
what other correspondents have written 
as to this particular habit of the species. 
Locally they do not appear to be under 
the gamekeeper’s ban, at least they are 
frequently to be seen on all the streams 
in this neighbourhood. Anglers here¬ 
abouts assert that they are occasionally 
seen to take a feed of spawn when in 
season, and even they have been ob¬ 
served catching minnows, but no one 
grudges them such a small share of the 
spoils of the water. To anyone caring 
for birds, the dapper little fellow in his 
coat of brown and vest of white is always 
an interesting sight, and his cheery notes 
seem meant to encourage his brother 
angler of a larger race to continue his 
quest for trout, of which, perhaps, he 
has not caught so many as he could 
wish. 
Other Views. 
Another writer saysMay I point out 
that in certain parts of Scotland, mostly 
in East Lothian and Berwickshire, the 
bird is, like the Water Ouzel, known by 
a different name. In these counties it 
is extremely plentiful, and is generally 
spoken of as the “Water Hen.” In 
marshy lochs, such as that at Townhead, 
near Cockburnspath, or similar sheets 
of water, it is met with in large numbers, 
and in still running pools in rivers or 
even small streams I have often felt 
annoyed, when fishing, at their “ flush¬ 
ing ” close to where trout are, or even 
hiding under the surface, where they can 
swim very rapidly. I can testify to 
what “J. S.” states as to Moor Hen 
frequenting streams of anything but a 
clear nature. In the Bollin, a stream 
flowing through Macclesfield, in 
Cheshire, and carrying away a large 
amount of waste matter from the silk 
mills there as well as other effluvia, I 
have shot more than one of them, and, I 
confess it, eaten them afterwards. I 
have also killed Snipe out of that water 
and similar streams. I found both birds 
excellent eating. They, along with the 
water rats, appeared to have these haunts 
to themselves. Certainly no fish could 
live in them for half an hour. The 
fully-fledged Moor Hen, is not altogether 
a defenceless creature, as I once ex¬ 
perienced to my cost. As a boy, I 
tried to “ gump ” or “ guddle ” one from 
underneath a bank in a ditch. I se¬ 
cured it, but it inflicted such an ugly 
wound on one of my fingers with its hard 
beak that I did not repeat the experi¬ 
ment. As regards an article of food, I 
often wonder they are not offered to the 
public a good deal more. Many wild 
duck, notably those feeding from the 
sea, do not possess the same delicate 
flavour as the Moor Hen, and the latter 
are not very difficult to shoot or get at. 
I confess I cannot quite understand why 
the bird is called the Moor Hen. Its 
habitat appears to me more connected 
with low country marshes, streams in 
gentlemen’s policies, than with moors, 
and it is aquatic, and not like the Grouse 
sticking to dry moors. 
Meadow-Pipit v. Sandpiper. 
Recently, while walking along the 
banks of the Dee, a gentleman saw a 
full-fledged young Sandpiper flying along 
the river’s surface pursued by a Meadow- 
Pipit, or Titlark. At first he thought 
that both birds must be flying near to¬ 
gether ; but soon it was apparent that 
the Titlark, for some reason, was giving 
chase to the Sandpiper, which, suddenly 
losing its head, fell right into the river, 
but quickly recovering itself, flew rapidly 
away. The Meadow-Pipit, thinking, 
apparently, that it had been punished 
sufficiently, turned round and flew back 
to where she probably had young ones. 
