^°'-^J] Stray Feathers. I39 



About half the surface is open water, and all round the edges grow 

 tall dark brovvn rushes. Out in the centre these give place to 

 smooth, round, green reeds, which grow only a few inches above 

 the water. They are inter-tangled one with another, and occasion- 

 ally the Bald-Coots [Porphyrio nielanonotus) build their nests upon 

 them. Before deciding on a particular spot, the Coot, like the 

 Bald-Coot, makes a great number of starts or commencements, 

 treading down the rushes and partly building nests. The nest 

 itself is neater and more basket-like in shape than the Bald-Coot's, 

 from which it can be readily distinguished. All the nests found 

 by me last year were made of the coarse rushes, bitten into lengths, 

 and were without any lining. They were built in reeds standing 

 in from i to 2 feet of water, and about 6 inches above the surface 

 of the water. Generally, the clumps containing the nests were 

 close to open sheets of water, and the birds, when disturbed, 

 slipped quickly through the rushes and disappeared. In one in- 

 stance a platform was constructed to a nest. My experience last 

 year showed that these birds are particularly sensitive, and im- 

 mediately desert their partly-made nests if they have been startled 

 whilst at work upon them. Several nests from whose vicinity a 

 bird was flushed were never finished or used, the owners evidently 

 resenting the intrusion. 



Of the many nests discovered, five only contained eggs. The 

 following is the data respecting them : — 



26/9/og. — Last year the season was earlier than usual, and on 

 the above date I took two clutches of five eggs each of the Coot. 

 The first nest found was built in reeds standing in i foot of water. 

 The bird slipped off her nest when she heard the intruder coming. 

 These eggs were about four days incubated. The second nest was 

 found on the opposite side of the lagoon in clumps of tall reeds 

 bordering open water. The eggs had the vein system just com- 

 menced . 



11/10/09. — One of my scholars, while riding through the lagoon 

 after cows, came on a Coot's nest with three eggs. The bird was 

 sitting. This nest was a neat basket-shaped one. The eggs were 

 a nicely-marked set. 



30/10/09. — The same boy discovered a nest with one egg in. 

 This was left for several days, but only two eggs altogether were 

 laid, and then the bird commenced to sit. 



17/11/09. — I came across a Coot's nest containing two eggs. 

 This was not looked at for five days, when the bird was disturbed 

 from her nest and was found to be sitting on the two eggs. The 

 nest had a platform, and quite a long track leading to it. This 

 pair of eggs was smaller than the others. Measurements in inches 

 of a pair sent to the Hobart Museum : — (i) 1.9 x 1.4 inches, (2) 1.8 x 

 1.3 inches. — J. A. Fletcher. Cleveland, Tasmania, 18/8/10. 



Erratum. — Vol. x., }). 69, Emu, sixth last line, read " Nimrod " 

 for " Discovery." 



