At Home with a Hell -Diver 245 



and began beating upon the water with its wings. Such behavior bespoke 

 something very unusual happening in the nearby nest. I looked just in time 

 to see the last of the striped young scramble from it and disappear beneath 

 the water. Then ensued a series of maneuvers on the part of the bird which 

 were evidently intended to distract my attention. The customary silence, 

 ease, and grace of diving were entirely abandoned. Each appearance above 

 the water was announced by a shake of the body, followed by a beating of the 

 wings on the surface, and a flip of the feet as it again dove, which sometimes 

 sprayed water for more than a yard. This performance took place within 

 ten or fifteen feet of me, and sometimes the bird swam in even closer. At such 



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THE HELL-DIVER 



times it rested rather high on the water, holding its tail, if we may speak of 

 it as such, erect, and nervously flashing the light areas on the flanks, as do 

 the Gallinules. 



Meanwhile the young birds had made their way toward the center of the 

 pond. The largest could not have been more than a few days old, and yet, 

 when I tried to catch them, they showed all the ingenuity of the old birds, 

 diving, doubling, swimming with just the bill showing, or lying concealed in a 

 bunch of water-weeds, with only the nostrils above the surface. Had the 

 water been less clear, I probably should have been unable to catch any of 

 them; but, as it was, I could follow them as they escaped in various directions. 

 They were even conspicuous when attempting to hide. I was reminded of the 

 old story of the Ostrich which buried its head in the sand to escape detection; 

 for, in spite of the fact that only the bill was exposed above the water, the 



