78 BIRDS OF THE Vf ATER 



the tender blanched blades of young raupo 

 in a highly desiccated state. 



Twice leaving my screen on this un- 

 fortunate day I put back the chicks, and 

 twice again were they removed, and although 

 in the end photographs were obtained, they 

 were of no account. The fact is that one 

 should never expect to get results from a 

 first sitting. There are a score of details 

 you cannot know. Often a Pukeko, for 

 instance, will enter its nest almost flat on 

 its belly, crawling in, and with half a dozen 

 raupo blades borne along on its back. 

 Then almost at once, often, the bird may 

 start to reweave a bower above its eggs, 

 pulling and tugging while on the nest at 

 the adjacent blades and stems. 



The second Pukeko 's nest, closely watched, 

 was under observation during October, 

 1909. Our tent was pitched in an open bit 

 of swamp directly in front of the nest, but 

 at many yards' distance, and this distance 

 was reduced a yard or two at a time, until 

 we had got within eighteen or twenty feet. 



After that we ventured to cut away a 

 certain amount of the superfluous greenery 



