64 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



seen them, till now, at 9.45 a.m., the male is singing whilst I 

 write this in my tent. This seems a curious change of tactics. 

 That these birds have a brood of young I know, since I have 

 seen both of them with food in their bills — sometimes whilst 

 they scolded. 



A female Merganser, with a perfect swarm of young, came 

 into the bay to-day. Once one, and once two, were on her 

 back. It was difficult to count them, as some would always be 

 coming together or crossing one another, but I think twelve was 

 the number, but possibly thirteen, and eleven as a minimum. 

 Their motion over the water, as also their speed, was most 

 surprising, for they often appeared to — and I believe really did — 

 run upon it. The mother just pursued her course, the young 

 following her. They would spread all about over the water, 

 always seeming to be doing something, one could not say what. 

 They never dived, but yet, I think, found something to feed 

 upon. Then, as the mother began to get too far away from 

 them, they would make little scurrying rushes, to catch her up, 

 some from one direction, some from another, all converging to 

 one point, till they were a closely packed crowd again. Indepen- 

 dently of any special cause, however, their idea always seemed 

 to be that there was great cause to hurry, after any short 

 interval of not doing so. At one point the mother passed 

 over a strip of sand, dabbled with water but too shallow 

 for her to swim, walking like a duck, and her brood followed 

 and ran upon the land just as they had been doing in the 

 water. I certainly think they ran in the proper sense of the 

 word, therf^. 



June 29f/^, 1912. — Have just seen (about 8 a.m.) what might 

 be interpreted as the call or summons or command of one of a 

 pair of Phalaropes to the other to come away, but whichever of 

 these it was, and from whichever of the two — male or female — 

 it proceeded, it was not followed or obeyed. Again, one bird was 

 meandering, in its usual way, on the placid surface (it is now a 

 dead calm) of the lake, when another flew up to it and may 

 possibly — but this I cannot say for certain* — have administered 

 a peck or two ; at any rate it came down right beside it and 

 pressed upon it. It then flew to a short distance, but, the other 

 * See, however, pos^, p. 67. 



