BIRDS OF KANSAS. n 



the birds in breeding plumage. The birds were very shy, and 

 the rushes too thick to see them from the sliore; the water was 

 cold, and, in order to find their nests, I had to wade in water 

 from two to three feet in depth. While in motion, I did not 

 suffer much with cold, but in order to get the birds was forced 

 to stand for a long time motionless in the water (barring the 

 shivering and chattering of teeth), while my man was beating 

 the water along the shore with a pole. The frightened birds 

 would not rise, but crossed the open space from side to side 

 under the water; one passed, with closed wings, close beside 

 me, but its lobate feet, that are placed so far behind, sculled it 

 with surprising velocity. 



It is said by some writers that the birds do not use their wings 

 under the water. This may be so, but I am inclined to think, 

 when out of the reeds or rushes and with nothing to catch or 

 tangle, that they do use them to accelerate their speed. In the 

 examination of their stomachs, however, I find their food con- 

 sists largely of Crustacea (crawfish the favorite), water newts, 

 insects, and all forms of low animalcula,with traces of vegeta- 

 tion and, of course, minnows; but fish are not so essential to 

 sustain life, as is the case with many of the expert divers, and 

 they may not have occasion to use their wings often. 



Away from their breeding grounds the birds do not, as a rule, 

 skulk or hide when hunted, but dive, coming to the surface at a 

 safe distance, and at once take wing, flying swiftly and low, re- 

 peating as often as approached, making the chase, whether in a 

 boat or otherwise, tiresome and almost hopeless. 



Before leaving the pond I succeeded in finding two nests, 

 without eggs, that had the appearance of having been lately set 

 upon (the downy little chicks leave their nests as soon as 

 hatched). I killed one about two weeks old; (I have the same 

 in the Goss Ornithological Collection.) I also shot a few of the 

 birds, and took from the ovary of a female a fully-formed e^g^ 

 1.71x1.20, pure bluish white; but, as the loose, puffy feathers 

 about the head were beginning to drop off, I think the breeding 

 season was nearly over. 



The two nests that I found were built in water about two feet 



