BIRDS IN THE NURSERY 101 



older family are of great use in bringing up 

 the next lot, and this may be one reason 

 why the moorhen is the commonest of our 

 water-birds. 



The little dabchick and its handsome big 

 relative the crested grebe, have a quite original 

 way of managing the nursery ; the little ones 

 can swim from the first, but they do not do 

 so very much for the first week or two, because 

 one of the old ones carries them on its back, 

 under the wings, while the other hunts for 

 food and brings it to them. With the Indian 

 dabchick I have noticed that the old ones 

 sometimes take turns in carrying the young, 

 and that at bed-time the old bird goes back to 

 the nest, and that the young ones sleep on its 

 back there, not under the parent's breast, 

 as most young birds do. The old ones put 

 fresh material on the nest every day, and I 

 once even saw one of the little ones helping 

 in this. Another bird which carries its young 

 ones is the woodcock ; this bird lives on 

 worms, which it finds in mud with its long 

 bill. But the young ones are hatched in 

 woods away from the feeding-ground, so the 

 old birds fly there with them every night, 



