on some Bahama Birds.



89



The position which they assume when incubating their

eggs has long been a doubtful point among naturalists, and,

although at the present day it is generally acknowledged that

they sit on their nests like ordinary birds, several independent

naturalists have asserted that they sit astride, and the point has

never been definitely solved.


The nests, as may be seen from the photograph, are conical

structures of mud, about 12 to iS inches in height, by about 9

inches at their upper end and 5 or 6 inches more at their base ;

they are hollowed out at the top something in the shape of a soup

plate and the large chalky white egg is placed in the depression.

In their breeding habits they appear very irregular and in some

seasons do not apparently breed at all. The mud for the nests

is scooped up from the ground immediately surrounding them,

though I am unable to say the exact manner in which they lift it.

The few nests which I came across in process of building were

very much trampled upon, as if they had been patted down to

solidify them, but whether that was so, or merely that they were

trodden on owing to the number of the birds, I cannot say.


It has often been remarked as very curious that the birds

should build these mud nests right out in the water , but after

having seen them in their native haunts (I am of course only

speaking from my Bahama experience) it would be difficult to

imagine a more comfortable way of solving the matter. The

land there lies so low that during the rainy season it is mostly

under water, so that, were they to nest on the ground, the}' would

be very liable to be washed out, and, were they to nest on the

obviously higher ridges, the young would have a terrible walk

to their feeding grounds which would be practically impossible

to such a long legged bird.


It is therefore essential that the nest should be near the

-water, and, as from causes of tide and rain, the water fluctuates

in depth, the nest must be built sufficiently high off the ground

to avoid the floods. As there are no trees or shrubs capable

of supporting so large a bird, the case is most easily settled

by building up a mud structure.


In the building of this mud nest difficulties arise; if



