84 ANNALS OF BIRD LIFE. 



rubbish is collected rotten flags, grasses, and 

 aquatic vegetation of all kinds anchored safely 

 to the reeds and rushes. On this heap of refuse 

 a dryer stratum of grass, dead leaves, and bits of 

 reed stems is formed into a shallow nest in which 

 the eggs are laid. The Coot's nest is usually 

 built in a similar situation, and nearly of the same 

 materials a large, floating raft of aquatic vege- 

 tation. The last of these curious nests that we 

 will notice are those of the Grebes. Many of 

 these structures are rafts of vegetable cttbris, often 

 quite unattached to any rush or reed, and abso- 

 lutely floating free upon the surface of the water. 

 All these raft-builders are in the habit of adding 

 fresh material to their nests from time to time, to 

 repair the damage caused by the washing of the 

 water. 



10. Upholsterers. The birds which come into 

 the present group comprise the Ducks and Geese. 

 These birds possess the singular habit of padding 

 their nests with down from their own bodies as 

 the eggs are being laid, so that, by the time incu- 

 bation commences, the structure is warmly lined 

 with a bed of gossamer lightness. Man has taken 

 a lesson from the birds, and forms from the down 

 of the Eider Duck the luxurious coverlets which 

 are so highly prized for their warmth and exceed- 

 ing lightness. Typical of the Ducks, we may 

 briefly glance at the nest of the Wild Duck and 

 of the Eider. The first-named bird by no means 

 always builds its nest near the water ; sometimes 



