3i6 BIRDS, BEASTS, AND FISHES 



a quickly-repeated chucking noise with open hps — the sort 

 of noise made in urging on horses. Then follows a coot- 

 like cry (only sharper in timbre), followed by a hoarse 

 ah-ahivaJi-aJi ! ahwah ! followed again by the chucking 

 note repeated some score of times, followed lastly by a 

 hoarser giio, giio-oJi ! 



Their nest, made in the middle of Ma}', is merely a heap 

 of broken-down gladen-bed, and resembles a swan's nest. 

 They merely break the sere gladen down, making a pile from 

 four to twelve inches high, which floats on the water, rising 

 and falling on tidal water with the ebb and flow of the tide- 

 stream. On this pile of gladen they place weeds pulled up 

 from the bottom. In the middle of the nest is a cup-shaped 

 depression, in which the five or six eggs, the colour of 

 faintest green chalk, and about the size of a silver-spangled 

 bantam's eggs, are placed. At other times the nest is placed 

 in a reed-bed, and is almost entirely made of weed — chiefly 

 hair-weed — which they pull up from the bottom of the 

 broad, making a great splashing and shouting as they build 

 it, for they are noisy workmen. Sometimes the eggs lie in 

 the water itself, and nearly always they get discoloured by 

 the wet weed in the nest, or with the weed or rotten, sodden 

 gladen, with which they conceal the eggs when they leave 

 them, though at times they merely use gladen to conceal 

 their treasures. One old Broadsman, whom I have ever 

 found trustworthy, tells me they often lay first six eggs 

 (and never more than six) and cover them over with weed, 

 laying six more on the top of these. Then, he avers, they 

 hatch off the top six, one bird taking charge of the nest- 

 lings, whilst the other "gets up" the first six eggs, and 

 hatches them off. 



It takes three weeks to hatch off the beautiful nestlings, 

 and thankful must the hen be, for she does all the sitting; 

 indeed, the cock will drive her back to her nest if she leave 

 it — that is, if he can ; but she generally manages to get 

 away for half-an-hour at a time to feed, whilst he sails 



