166 Mr. E. Gibson on the Ornithology of 
chest may be faintly heard. The note is of great strength 
and volume, and is still distinguishable a couple of miles 
away, if the day should be calm. 
The food, as far as I have been able to ascertain, is gathered 
from the floating duckweed and other vegetable matter of 
the swamps. : 
One has to be on one’s guard against the formidable wing- 
spurs on laying hold of a wounded Chaha. On one such occa- 
sion, a stroke aimed at my face as I stooped to pick the bird 
up, was very nearly successful; the spur caught in my coat- 
collar, and I was almost pulled out of the saddle by the 
bird’s weight. I have seen a young bird, as yet unable to 
fly, beat off and follow up a dog, striking quickly and heavily, 
the half-folded wings being used alternately. 
The flight is slow, with long powerful sweeps of the great 
wings. I had almost forgotten to mention that if the hand 
is passed down the breast of the Chaka, pressing the plumage 
slightly down, a crackling sound is produced ; probably from 
the air confined among the feathers. 
Breeding- Notes.—Well might Mr. Durnford express sur- 
prise at the breeding-habits of this species. At the end of 
June (midwinter) he took nests with eggs; while I have fre- 
quently taken them in May, June, July, and August, and 
also in autumn, in the month of March. But September and 
October constitute the real breeding-season, when the bulk 
of the birds lay. 
The nest is a shallow light construction, build of dry rushes 
with a hollow on the top for the eggs. ‘The foundation is in 
the water, above the surface of which it rises only a foot or 
two, with a diameter of from two.to three feet. Narrow 
swamps are generally chosen for its situation; or if in the 
centre of a large one, it is placed at the side of some clear 
water. The female sits pretty close, and on being disturbed 
rises silently, without the customary cry. Four is the largest 
number of young I have seen in one brood; but the clutch of 
eges reaches as many as six. These are of a white colour, 
occasionally tinged with ight buff, oval-shaped and smooth- 
shelled. They average 316 x 212, with a variation of from 
