192 Braisi.ix, Florida Gattinule Nesting near New York. [\nrii 



occasion in the pond referred to, but a number of birds, both old 

 and young, were seen in adjacent ponds. Mr. Abbott explored 

 one particularly fruitful area, and as he has kindly placed his 

 notes at my disposal for use in this paper I make from them the 

 following quotations: 



"The spot was a triangle of reeds bounded by two branching 

 railway tracks and an embankment built to carry a road over the 

 marsh. It was not 100 yards in extent in any direction. By 

 getting up on the embankment I could get a view over the whole 

 little pond. I had hardly looked before out into an open space 

 stalked a mother Gallinule with her brood about her, well-grown 

 downy youngsters, black as ink. They were pecking about like 

 a flock of chickens. Hardly had they disappeared among the 

 reeds again than I spied another Gallinule walking leisurely about 

 in the open, her red head [frontal plate] especially conspicuous. 

 On entering the swamp, which was waist deep, a sharp, penetrat- 

 ing note like the squeak of a toy or child's doll was heard. The 

 sound possessed no ventriloquial qualities and seemed just as close 

 as it was, for, as I peered through the reeds I saw the bird (an 

 adult) skulking leisurely away from me. Thereafter I had oppor- 

 tunities to observe several birds — at least four adults, I think, 

 in this one small pit. I was much surprised at their tameness, 

 for they would allow a remarkably close approach and then only 

 moved slowly away in an insulted sort of manner, stopping very 

 daintily and constantly flirting their tails. Among the reeds their 

 exceedingly broad feet enable the birds to walk upon the duck- 

 weed, but in crossing an open space they swam. I saw young 

 birds, however, which being light (those I saw thus were about the 

 size of a Spotted Sandpiper), walk upon the duckweed even over 

 a broad open space. In swimming the bird nods the head at each 

 stroke, and the feet then being hidden, it looks almost exactly 

 like an English Moorhen. The white streaks on the body, how- 

 ever, are quite conspicuous, and give her a (to me) strange appear- 

 ance. One bird I saw swimming had the wings raised and arched 

 over the back, something after the manner of a male swan. I 

 soon learned that the birds possessed quite a vocabulary, though 

 the commonest notes were the loud keck described above (uttered 

 when the intruder approached too near) and a lower, clucking 

 sound. 



