WOOD AND WASTE 81 



were of dissimilar types, rounder and 

 smaller, or darker in colour and more 

 pyriform. 



The third nest under the camera was 

 found on January 22nd. Placed in a willow 

 and a couple of feet above the lake, the 

 intercrossing of several boughs served for 

 a base, the outer layers of the nest were 

 composed of half-dry willow weepers, 

 broken into short lengths, while inside it 

 was lined with raupo blades. By chance I 

 had come across it whilst searching late on 

 a gloomy afternoon for Brown Ducks. 

 Willow gro\\i;hs almost completely hid the 

 sitting bird, the dark water admirably 

 matching his deep blue plumage, and it 

 was his red head that first attracted close 

 attention. This danger the old bird must 

 have been fully aware of, for as I leant 

 over the deep water, peering into the 

 greenery from my position on a broken 

 limb, he, too, drooped his head lower and 

 lower towards the water, and away from 

 me, until he sat at an extraordinary angle 

 in the nest. From subsequent observations 

 I became convinced that this conduct was 



12 



