1920.] Cape San Antonio, Buenos Ayres. 43 



imagined how, under these circumstances, the natural covert 

 attained an unusually favoured and luxurious growth ; where 

 the feathered denizens or visitors became of a singularly 

 interesting nature — an aquatic aviary in short on a large 

 scale^ open to the sky, and visited by constantly recurring 

 novelties or rarities. Also^ the isolation of the said " Charco " 

 or pond (for it is situated about a mile from our swamp-land 

 proper), and its limited area constituted it a world by itself, 

 where observations could be taken with some degree of 

 accuracy. 



Here, early in November of 1913, I located a pair of the 

 Am.erican Waterhen. Previously, on 11 October, 1 had taken 

 a nest of the Red-gartered Coot {Fiilica armillata Vieill.) 

 with a fine clutch of ten eggs, and shot one of the birds ; 

 after which the other abandoned the locality. Subsequently, 

 when I took the Waterhen^s nest, there were also nesting 

 two pairs of the Yellow-fronted Coot {FuHca leucoptera 

 Vieill.), but these were productive of no confusion. A 

 pair of the Thick-billed Grebe [Podihjmbus podiceps Linn.) 

 furnished me with the welcome and novel discovery of their 

 breeding-habits in the shape of my first nest. Nesting also 

 was that curious bird, the Southern Courlan (Aramus scolo- 

 paceus Gm.) ; and I was enabled to watch its interesting and 

 grotesque habits at first-hand. Of all the other numerous 

 species of waterfowl and reed-birds I need say nothing, 

 beyond mentioning a pair of the beautiful black and flame- 

 coloured Marsh-birds {Amblyramphus holosericeus Scop.) 

 which were haunting the tops of the rushes, their flute-like 

 notes indicative of a nest which never materialised. 



For the moment, however, the Waterhens had the first 

 place in my regard ; and on tlie 9th of November I located 

 their first nest. This was situated at the edge of a small bed 

 of juncos near the fence, in rather deep water, and about 

 twenty-five yards from the Courlan's. It was built of green 

 water-weeds, circularly intertwined, not an untidy structure 

 like that of the Yellow-fronted Coot, and consequently the 

 eggs were comparatively dry. It measured about a foot in 

 diameter, and the slight depression for the eggs half as 



