COVERING THE EGGS. 127 



this gentleman found a little structure, about a foot 

 square, built of brick and mortar, and intended as 

 the dwelling of a duck. It was, however, taken 

 possession of by a water-hen, who, whenever she 

 absented herself from her eggs, covered them care- 

 fully over with the hay. A wild duck built her 

 nest on a ruin, in the thick ivy clustering over its 

 top ; and she likewise never voluntarily left her 

 nest without concealing it with such materials as 

 lay around. 



The dabchick covers its nest with aquatic plants 

 of various kinds, often collected from those lying 

 just around her; rushes and the water crow-foot are 

 frequently employed for this purpose. A corre- 

 spondent of the Zoologist says that he has seen the 

 eggs covered with the latter plant under circum- 

 stances when it was evident that the bird must have 

 been at some pains to procure it ; none, in fact, 

 was growing where the nest was built, or nearer 

 than an adjacent pond, to obtain it from which the 

 bird must have been at the pains of coming over 

 some dry land. He observes, in addition, that, from 

 the quantity of this material used for a covering, 

 and the extreme rarity of ever finding a full com- 

 plement of eggs without it, it appears obvious that 



