ici | Burtcu, Nesting of the Florida Gallinule. 319 
NESTING OF THE FLORIDA GALLINULE. 
BY VERDI BURTCH. 
Plates: AT-NTT. 
In the spring of 1916 the water was very high in the marsh at 
Branchport, N. Y., and nearly all of the early nests of Red-winged 
Blackbirds and Florida Gallinules were submerged and destroyed. 
One pair of Gallinules had completed their nest near the margin 
of the marsh and only a short distance from my house. Six eggs 
had been layed when a rise of the water covered the nest causing 
it to disintegrate, letting the eggs through the bottom of it where 
I found them resting on the mud below. 
Soon after this, June 11, and a beautiful moonlight night, I was 
pushing my boat through the flags when I found a Gailinule’s nest 
containing one egg. It was in the same locality as the first men- 
tioned nest and I have no doubt that it was constructed by the 
same birds. On the 16th, it rained very hard all day and all night 
and when I visited the nest next day I found it under water. The 
five eggs which it now contained were nearly under water and the 
female Gallinule was swimming around close to the nest. Think- 
ing that she might desert the nest if I disturbed her I passed quickly 
on. The next day there were six eggs in the nest and I was sur- 
prised to find that the Gallinules had added new green flags to the 
nest raising it, eggs and all at least ten inches higher. The eggs 
were now about ten inches above the water and no more eggs were 
laid but the nest was made more compact and substantial. 
July 1, I erected a blind about ten feet from the nest and at 
8.50 A. M. next day I concealed myself therein. Both Gallinules 
were heard when I first arrived then were still until 9.15 when 
there was a splash in the water near by and the female appeared 
for a moment then went away again. At 9.380 she cackled cut, 
cut, cut-cul-cut-cul—cut and at 9.40 she came to within ten feet 
of the nest, sounded alarm note then made a complete circle around 
the blind and went on the nest at 9.50 unobserved by me. There 
she sat pulling the growing flags to and around her and at 10.15 
