70 Mr. Gordon Dalguesh,


disappears under water like magic, leaving hardly a ripple on

the surface, to appear again some yards farther off from where it

dived, only to immediately disappear again and so on until it

fancies itself safe. In Bengal at an)'' rate it commences breeding

in July, and many a time have I watched these most interesting

little birds whilst nesting. Both birds during this time kept up

a curious rattling cry, though they are, as a rule, quite silent at

other times of the year. The nest is very untidy, being a large

floating structure, not fastened to any weeds, nor is any attempt

made at binding the materials together in any way; it is simply

a rotting mass of weeds and leaves. It is a mystery to me how

some of the eggs are ever hatched lying as they do in a nest

soaked through and through with water, and I feel sure the eggs

are mostly incubated by the heat of the sun as I have never seen

the birds sitting during the day. The eggs are always covered

up with damp weeds, and these, combined with the heat of the

sun, no doubt set up a sort of fermentation that aids incubation.

During this period they are very restless and keep on taking

short flights across the pond and make a good deal of noise.

The male is most attentive to the female and always keeps close

to her, feeding her on small fish and aquatic insects. The young

when first hatched are pretty little creatures, covered with greyish

down and striped black. I once surprised a party of these birds,

consisting of one old one and five young. The young at once

tried to conceal themselves by hiding among the weeds, while

the old one tried to draw my attention from them by fluttering as

if wounded in front of my boat. Constant persecution makes

them exceedingly wary, but on the other hand, if not molested,

they get comparatively tame. The Indian Dabchick undergoes

two phases of plumage. In winter the upper parts are light

brown and lower parts silky white. In summer the upper parts

are a very dark brown almost approaching to black ; the neck,

chestnut red ; lower parts silky grey, suffused with streaks of

brown. Some birds retain traces of the breeding dress until

November. This is my experience and that also of the writers

of numerous books I have consulted on the subject ; but Mr.

Finn makes the startling statement {Zoologist, 1902, p. 303), that :

" The so-called winter plumage is merely that of immaturity in



