342 



Aquatic Societies 



breeds here and builds his nest of rushes. He prefers, 

 to be sure, the edge of a marsh opening, where in deep 

 water he may find crawfishes and molluscs, with which 

 to vary his ordinary diet of succulent shoots and tubers. 



Fig. 201. The eggs of the spotted salamander, Ambystoma punctatum. 



tPhoto by A. A. Allen.) 



Deep in the marsh dwell water birds, such as grebes, 

 rails, coots, terns, bitterns, and in the north, ducks and 

 geese as well. Such non-aquatic birds as the long-billed 

 marsh-wren and the red-winged blackbird use the top 

 of the marsh cover as a place to build their nests ami 



