CHAPTER EIGHTEEN SPRING BIRDS 



ployed in building, swimming to and fro with the greatest 

 activity. After laying a good foundation of this material, 

 they commenced diving for the weeds which grew at the 

 bottom of the water, bringing up small bunches of it, and 

 clambering up the sides of their nest (the bottom of which 

 was in the water), they made a layer of this, hollowed out 

 in the middle. They worked only in the morning and very 

 late in the evening. Their eggs were six in number, and 

 when first laid, quite white, and nearly oval. During the 

 time of sitting, whenever the old bird left her nest she cov- 

 ered her eggs most carefully. The singular part of this pro- 

 ceeding was, that she always dived for a quantity of green 

 weed, which grew at the bottom of the pond, and used this, 

 wet as it was, to cover her eggs. By the time that they had 

 been laid for a few days they became green and dirty-look- 

 ing, having quite the appearance of being addled — and no 

 wonder, as the nest was constantly wet from below, the 

 water coming up through the rushes and weeds of which it 

 was composed; and she gave them a fresh wet covering 

 every time that she left them, arranging it around the eggs, 

 so that the edges of the nest gradually became higher and 

 higher. The bird appeared to be very frequently off during 

 the daytime, remaining away for hours together, playing 

 about on the water with her mate. After a fortnight of this 

 kind of sitting, I one day saw her followed by six little dab- 

 chicks, scarcely bigger than large beetles, but as active and 

 as muchat homeon the water as their parents. A very windy 

 day came on, and the young birds collected in a group be- 

 hind a floating rail, which being half grounded at an angle 

 of the pool, made a kind of breakwater for them. The old 



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