270 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST 



appears to pull at the last-year's dry steins, but my view is obscured, 

 and her exact movements are not seen. In a few minutes she 

 comes out to the edge of the island, using her bill amongst the grass, 

 but almost immediately returns to the willow-herb clump. 1 Mean- 

 while her mate remains in the water close to the island, awaiting his 

 partner's return. Soon he is approached and attacked by another 

 drake, and is pursued to some distance, where he is later joined by 

 his mate from the island. The mate of the newly arrived drake 

 cruises to and fro by the island, with an evident half-formed intention 

 of going ashore ; but she does not do so, eventually commencing to 

 dive for food." 



Such behaviour as this is to be witnessed daily from mid- April 

 onward, and is shared in equally for several weeks by the two sexes j 

 but a rapid waning is to be noted in the drake about the period of 

 egg-laying. The described grass-plucking habit is often curiously 

 vague and uncertain in character, and is obviously at least semi- 

 unconscious on the part of the birds. It is difficult to doubt its 

 (indirect) connection with the instinct of nest-construction. If this 

 be so, the drake's participation has a peculiar interest. 



Egg-deposition takes place at an early hour of the day. When 

 the female goes to the nest to lay, the drake commonly accompanies 

 her, and remains a while in close proximity. His attitude is one of 

 expectancy, and a feature is the repeated opening and closing of the 

 mandibles, suggesting the regular utterance of a note, which must, 

 however, be very low in tone, since it has never been audible to me. 

 It is, perhaps, the common liquid note of other occasions. Under 

 such circumstances the drake acts as a guard of the nesting-site, 

 and displays great jealousy of the approach of other individuals, 

 male or female, driving them off with determination. Females 

 likewise show jealousy in the neighbourhood of their chosen nesting- 

 site, and may occasionally be witnessed repulsing others of the same 

 sex. Nevertheless it is evident that interlopers may make use of the 

 same nest : and this is no doubt more commonly the case where 

 suitable nesting-sites are limited in comparison with the number of 

 birds. 



The young dive freely for food when still only a few hours old. 

 The instinct is no doubt congenital ; but there are indications that 

 it is not perfectly so. Young broods newly on the water may some- 

 times be watched for hours without being seen to dive, feeding 

 entirely on surface-insects and vegetable matter. When they do 

 commence to go under, some little awkwardness and uncertainty is 



1 Which contained a nest later in the same season. 



