CHAPTER XII.

Test and Itchen--Vegetation--Riverside villages--The cottage by the river--Itchen valley--Blossoming limes--Bird visitors--Goldfinch--Cirl bunting--Song--Plumage--Three common river birds--Coots--Moor-hen and nest--Little grebes' struggles--Male grebe's devotion--Parent coot's wisdom--A more or less happy family--Dogged little grebes--Grebes training their young--Fishing birds and fascination.