BIRDS OF THE MARSH AND LAKE 395 



permitting itself to be seen in the open. Although 

 it is fairlv plentiful in certain localities its presence 

 is often unsuspected, even by those who spend their 

 whole lives near its haunts. 



The W^ater Rail would seem to rear two broods 

 in each season, the young in down being found 

 both in early May and in August. 



Close to the shore of the lake is a small island, 

 little more than a peninsula, indeed, for the en- 

 croaching reed-beds on the inner side connect it 

 with the land. It is covered with grass and ferns 

 set amidst low trees, and its sides are indented with 

 small, rocky harbours screened by overhanging 

 branches. As one examines the tangled brush- 

 w^ood, noting every slight depression in the herb- 

 age, something bright appears gleaming in the 

 grass. Watching this speck of light carefully, set 

 as it is in the matted greenery around, the outline 

 of a dusky head becomes slowly distinct and we 

 are able to make out a Mallard sitting on her nest. 

 She allows us to draw near to within a few feet, 

 trusting to her dry-leaf tinted plumage for con- 

 cealment, then, with trailing wings, she scuttles 

 lamely to the water and swims restlessly to and 

 fro, with her anxious head turned to the shore of 

 the island. A mass of sea-green eggs are closely 

 packed in the downy hollow of the nest, some 

 almost hidden by the feathery lining, and all hot 

 from the recent contact with the duck's body. 



Every year one or two pairs of Mallard nest 

 upon the island or on the grassy and heathery 

 banks near at hand, and when one is fishing in the 



