That the birds are mated on arrival seems 

 probable, as the same pair of birds occupy 

 the identical nesting- site, or its immediate 

 neig-hborhood, for many years. In cases 

 where three or more birds are seen in proxim- 

 ity on the same lake, there is occasional evi- 

 dence of dispute, but the retirement of all 

 but a sing-le pair soon occurs, and then the 

 lucky swain and mate are left in undisputed 

 possession of the pond or lake. On larg-er 

 lakes it may prove that two or more pairs of 

 birds are occasionally found nesting-, but in 

 the smaller lakes that I have visited, it is rare 

 to find more than one nest on a body of water. 

 •Many pairs rear their young- on ponds of from 

 ten to a hundred acres extent, the old birds 

 seldom feeding- to any extent on the pond 

 where the nest is situated, but feeding- on 

 larg-er lakes near, and from this reason the 

 nests are difficult to find, for it is not a sure 

 indication that a nest is at hand when we see 

 the old birds about. 



About the tenth of May or rather e irlier 

 the nests are beg-un, the first evidence of a 

 •^ elected site being- the devotion of a pair to 

 a certain section of the pond. The point 

 chosen is g-enerally at from twenty to forty 

 rods from the shore, and is dependent on the 



