. Ornithological miscellany . of Yarrell (part xi. pp. 237 & 238) that Icannot repeat the process ; that description should be read. | Next to the pleasure of watching their flight is that of hearing the soundof their voices. Hence the term in old writers, a murmuration of is the noise of a multitude, each member of which chides, soothes, orcomplains, according to his special wants in the struggle. This murmuration has been described to me by an old fenman atWhittlesea Mere, as coming from its deep reed shore; and he assured methat, under the wind, you could hear the sounds of the
. Ornithological miscellany . of Yarrell (part xi. pp. 237 & 238) that Icannot repeat the process ; that description should be read. | Next to the pleasure of watching their flight is that of hearing the soundof their voices. Hence the term in old writers, a murmuration of is the noise of a multitude, each member of which chides, soothes, orcomplains, according to his special wants in the struggle. This murmuration has been described to me by an old fenman atWhittlesea Mere, as coming from its deep reed shore; and he assured methat, under the wind, you could hear the sounds of the congregation aquarter of a mile ofl^. Even a well-used Sparrow-roost (in old laurels, perhaps) has its charmsat sundown. It contains an immense number of birds, each of whom fightsfor a good place to pass the night in the common shelter; and the chatterwhich goes on can be heard for a long distance. Such a one, familiar to mein the days of childhood, comes back now to my mind. <►J W o M I—I < u oIJo w o :^^/^^. I—H w CZ2 ;^ OO p=q;^w CZ2 K—I P^ ;^o o P) w 03 w EH M A FEW WORDS ON FEN-LAND. 221 Hardly any thing is more characteristic of the fens than the decoys,which have been so often described that it is needless to repeat the process. Lubbock says ( Fauna of Norfolk, p. 105) :— Blomefield names one of a distinguished Norfolk family as the founderof decoys :— Sir Wilham, son of Sir William Woodhouse, Uved in the reignof James the First, and is said to have been the first person v^^ho, in England,invented and erected decoys for taking wild Ducks. Pishey Thompson states C History of Boston, p. 676) :— In one season, a few years previous to the inclosure of the fens, ten decoys, five of which were in the parish of Friskney, furnished 31,200 Ducks, Widgeon, and Teal for the London market. Decoys are fast going out of fashion ; they will hardly last much woodcut of the one now at Friskney is from a sketch in my own collectionof such things, recently
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1876
