VOl i907^ IV ] Abbott, Summer Bird-life of the Newark Marshes. 9 



appointed long, for on coming suddenly upon one of the isolated 

 ponds, we saw, to our astonishment, a duck swimming. It made 

 a short flight above our heads and then tried to hide in the rushes. 

 Mr. Hann plunged wildly after it, and smashing the reeds about its 

 head triumphantly produced a Lesser Scaup Duck (Ayihya 

 affinis). Its presence here at this date was quickly accounted for 

 by the condition of one of its wings which had evidently been badly 

 wounded last shooting season. Even so, how it had found its way 

 to the marsh remained a mystery. At all events after securing its 

 photograph we let it go. 



Other visits to the marsh, each resulting in a few more nests and 

 a little more data, were made by Messrs. Hann and Callender on 

 June 23, by Messrs. Hann, Callender and Dr. H. F. Merriam on 

 July 1, and by Messrs. Hann and W. DeW. Miller on August 5. 

 This last visit was largely for the purpose of making a more quiet 

 and minute study of the habits of the birds, as it was by this time 

 late for nests. Mr. Hann wrote me afterwards a letter which con- 

 tained the following additional information : 



"We were surprised at the numbers of the Gallinules. We saw 

 at least fifty separate birds in the open, and counted as many as 

 twenty-eight in a single pool. We saw several of them standing 

 on small tussocks, and when so doing the tarsus was almost per- 

 pendicular while the tibia was held at an angle of about forty degrees 

 with the line of the tarsus. One bird we noted stood for twenty 

 minutes on a small tussock not more than six inches across, and 

 besides preening his feathers he would every now and then peck 

 at the duck-weed round about. After a while he got up and flew 

 off with short, moderately quick wing beats and legs dangling down 

 like a rail ; he did not rise more than three feet above the water. 



"We observed one odd incident. As you know, some of the 

 floating bogs are very unsteady and turn over easily. We saw a 

 Gallinule swim up to a small bog of this sort and as he stepped on 

 the edge, it tilted under his weight. Instead of getting off as one 

 would expect, he simply walked forward, turning it over and at the 

 same time picking at the duckweed on it. I should say that he 

 turned it completely over at least four or five times while I was 

 looking at him through the glasses, and he was so near that I could 

 see every move he made. At times it seemed as if he would lose 



