KO 



52 Mr. E. Gihsoii on the Ormthohgy of [Ibis, 



concerned, a very unusual trait : previous to tlie introduction 

 of wire fences I had never seen an instance ; and of 

 tree-perching the above two are tlie only cases chronicled. 

 In its composite character this bird only looks its best Avhen 

 it is itself, i.e. as a Rail ; when it poses as a Crane it is 

 a failure. It walks and runs not ungracef idly in the former 

 part; but as an aviator it must either have forgotten or 

 never learned the latter's vocation (see Hudson's and my own 

 description of the flight), whilst it looks quite out of place 

 in a tree. The wild shrieks Avhich give rise to its vernacular 

 name of " Mad" or " Crazy Widow/' are generally produced 

 at any hour of the night, as the Evil Spirit moves it; but 

 occasionally may be heard late in the afternoon. Should 

 the observer be in the vicinity of the nest the disturbed 

 bird frequently utters a short grating double-note; whilst, 

 if visible, it will be seen to move about on the ground, with 

 jerkings of the head, body, and tail, or crouch down and 

 raise itself repeatedly. 



The nesting-period is more extended than I previously 

 stated, ranging from the middle of August into January 

 and to the end of February, l)ut mostly falling in the first 

 half of Ueceaiber. A total of a dozen nests in the course of 

 forty years is not much to boast of, but it is all the number 

 my diary records. One ex|)lanation is furnished by the 

 almost invariable situation in the deepest of a cnnadon, and 

 where the junco is thickest ; consequently, the horseman — 

 fighting his way anxiously and painfully through the dense 

 covert — is very apt to overlook the none too obvious struc- 

 ture, the materials of which, along with the eggs, harmonise 

 most completely with the surroundings in colour. Only in 

 the " Charco," or small laguna I have previously described, 

 has it been in my power to conveniently examine a couple 

 of nests from the comfort and ease of a canoe. These, 

 thoroughly tyj)ical of the usual construction, were placed 

 amongst the reeds or rushes (by which the}' were supported 

 and sustained) in the shape of a platform resting on the 

 surface of the water. Built of the same materials in a dry 



