417 
Egg-collecting in Asia Minor. 
been laid by Egrets or Herons, which were everywhere very 
much in evidence. Numbers of Great Reed-Warblers 
(Acrocephalus turdoides) were uttering their harsh grating 
notes, just within the edge of the cane-brake, but we could 
find none of their nests, and I fancy that they too had not 
yet commenced to build. 
I now felt pretty certain that the Herons were nesting 
somewhere in the middle of the great cane-brake, as there 
were said to be no trees of any kind growing in any part of the 
marsh, and on watching the birds I presently saw a Night- 
Heron with a reed in its bill. I watched it flying over the high 
flowering reeds until it disappeared in the distance. In a 
few minutes I saw another Night-Heron flying in the same 
direction, also with a reed in its bill, so we determined to ride 
round the edge of the marsh to a point of high ground from 
which we thought we would be able to see exactly where these 
birds, which were evidently building their nests, were settling. 
It was about 1 o'clock and most intensely hot when we 
reached the point we were making for, a piece of rising- 
ground close to the ruins of the old Greek city of Pergamos, 
lying in an angle between the marsh and a bend of the 
Meander. Here we saw a specimen of that very handsome 
bird the Smyrnan Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis), and here, 
too, we found an encampment of gipsies, who, being fishermen, 
possessed a small flat-bottomed boat. These people said 
they knew where the Herons and Egrets were breeding, 
but protested that it was impossible to get there with their 
boat, as the reeds were so thick. They also said that a pair 
of Swans nested in the reed-bed, and had already got young 
ones; these Swans which nest in Asia Minor are wild 
Mute Swans (Cygnus olor). With a great deal of persuasion 
we at last induced two strong young gipsies to make the 
attempt to take Mr. B. H-and myself into the reed-bed. 
At first they punted the boat rapidly along through light 
reeds, which, however, gradually became denser, until, when 
we presently got into the big cane-brake, our progress 
became very slow, and we were often able to advance at 
all only by getting into the water, which was about four 
