24 HILLSIDE, ROCK, AND DALE 



saw one sit for more than half an hour at a time. 

 Sometimes they changed after five minutes' sitting. 



DABCHICK ENTERING NEST 



It was a pretty exercise to see them change. The 

 bird about to relieve the other came up at the back 

 of the nest, then the sitting bird dived almost before 

 the other's head showed above water. 



When a dabchick leaves the nest it is the usual 

 custom to cover the eggs. The nest is often built 

 on the surface of the water, and when the eggs are 

 covered it looks exactly like a clump of floating 



