34 



Sbe Warbler 



of the oats which v/ere not cut, but of a very small area. The nest con- 

 tained eight eggs, and was built among the oats' on high ground, and made 

 entirely of the dry oat leaves arranged in a circular manner, but not arched 

 over. It was 10:00 a. m. when she left the nest and I remained in the near 

 vicinity until 11:00 A. m., when she again was found incubating. She ran, 

 upon my approaching the nest, into the nearest cover of standing oats — 

 about eighty yards away. So swiftly was this done that I had in mind a 

 field mouse. Although the entire aspect of the field was changed the bird 

 had no difficulty in finding her home. 



As soon as she entered the standing oats she began to call, which notes 



BLACK RAIL FAMILY GROUP, COLLECTED BY MR. "WAYNE 



resembled the words, croo-croo-croo-o, and then again almost exactly like the 

 commencement of the song of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo. This was an- 

 swered at once by the male, but his song was very different and the notes 

 may best be described by the words, kik, kik, kik, kik, or even kuk, kuk, kuk, kuk. 

 As the birds were rare, and the field would be ploughed as soon as the oats 

 were harvested, I determined to make every effort to capture both parents, 

 after listening to the song of both birds for more than one hour. 



I walked into the standing oats, and little did I dream of ever fmshingone 



