THE NIDIOIvOGIST. 



Ii5 



YOUNG COOTS IN THE NEST, 



pipped. The young Coots are coal black, 

 with yellowish-red hair-like downy heads, 

 making them look very odd. They leave 

 the nest for the water with the shell fairly 

 sticking to their backs, so thoroughly 

 aquatic are they by nature. 



Another nest was found later on where 

 we got two young chicks just as they were 

 trying to get out of the nest to the water. 

 While trying to set the camera to photo- 

 graph them, out popped a chick from an 

 egg, and made a bee line for the water. 

 At last a shot was made, and the result 

 may here be seen. The two dark places in 

 the nest are the little Coots scrambling for 

 a bath. 



In the hundreds of nests observed no 

 parent birds were seen on the eggs, they 

 being left to hatch by the heat generated 

 from the decayed vegetation of the nest 

 composition. 



We next turned our attention to nests 

 of the Yellow-headed Blackbirds. One- 

 half of the nests examined were empty; 

 sets of three to four were taken, the former 



being the case oftener than the latter. 

 Nests were cup shaped, quite deep; con- 

 structed strongly of fine rush blades, lined 

 with wild rice blades, mud being used in 

 the thick walls. They were all fastened 

 to stalks of the cat-tails or rushes; all were 

 placed about two to three feet from the 

 water. The nests hardly differ from the 

 Bi-colored Blackbird's, the latter being 

 more open. 



The Bi-colored Blackbirds are more dem- 

 onstrative in their actions than the Yellow- 

 heads when their nests are being robbed, 

 flying close over one's head; calling and 

 scolding until the air is fairly alive with 

 others attracted by their cries from all over 

 the vast expanse of water. 



Knowing that the American Eared Grebe 

 ( Colymbus nigricollis californiais) was to be 

 found in this locality, a sharp lookout was 

 kept up for them. Several nests of the 

 Pied-billed Grebe {P. podiceps), with three 

 to five eggs, were taken, and in ever)' case 

 the eggs were covered up hastily by rush 

 leaves pulled from around the edge of the 

 nest over them. 



