82 BIRDS OF THE WATER 



not the result of chance, but that the bird 

 appreciated the danger of his coloured 

 head. 



Twice that evening and afterwards I had 

 the pleasure of witnessing a repetition of 

 the original performance, the bird again 

 drooping his head into shelter and shuffling 

 himself back in the nest, till it seemed 

 likely that he would slide completely off 

 it. Never before had I known an instance 

 of quite the same kind, so that this cock 

 Pukeko's comprehension of the danger 

 lurking in his crown seemed most inter- 

 esting.* 



The nest was found, as has been said, 

 on January 22nd, but other work was in 

 hand, and it was not until January 26th 

 that we dragged a boat across "The Gut" 

 dividing in summer the upper from the 



Note. — During September, 1910, whilst one afternoon riding 

 along the edge of the lake I noticed, as did also my companion, 

 a Pukeko again perform this action. We were upon him almost 

 before he knew of us, and not choosing to fly, he crouched down, 

 and although his head, of course, was lower than his back, he 

 took the further precaution of submerging his bill, thus blending 

 himself more completely into the water background. From the 

 angle at which his head was held — not stretched out, but rather 

 dug down into the water — I again cannot but think that the 

 bird was fully conscious of his danger signal of red. 



