GEiJs. 373 



later, when the ground on which it stood was dry, and found it to 

 be fully nine feet in diameter at base and three feet in height, and 

 it must have lost at least a foot by settling. When built on land 

 surrounded by but not overflowed with water, the nest is a much less 

 pretentious afiair, perhaps five feet in diameter at base and a foot 

 only in height. Occasionally, apparently where they could not get 

 a large enough piece of water to secure as they considered their 

 safety, I have found them seeking this in concealment. As a rule, 

 the nest is out in the open, visible from all directions at a mile's 

 distance. In the few cases to which I refer I have found it in 

 dense beds of bulrush and reed so lofty that, even when standing 

 on its nest, the bird was only to be seen by climbing a neighbour- 

 ing tree. In these cases the rushes and reeds, where they were 

 thickest, had been bent down across and across, so as to form a 

 platform five or six feet in diameter, and on this a comparatively 

 slight nest had been constructed. Two is certainly the normal 

 number of eggs, but I have twice (out of more than one hundred 

 nests) found three, and I have also occasionally seen three young 

 birds in company with an old pair. 



I remember one day, as I was coming home from Rahun, I saw 

 in a sheet of rain-water some distance off the road a Sarus sitting 

 on her nest and the male standing beside her. I rode as near the 

 place as I could, and then sent my syce to get the eggs. As he 

 commenced wading towards the nest the male began to dance 

 about, flapping his wings and trumpeting most bravely ; but when 

 the man got within a few yards and landed safely on the patch of 

 dry ground on which the nest rested, the male put his head down 

 and ran off very crestfallen to a ridge in the water some fifty yards 

 distant, whence he began with loud cries to encourage his lady not 

 to allow " that black rascal " to take any liberties. She sat quite 

 still, neither moved nor cried, only as the man came close to her 

 made such vigorous pokes and drives at him that he got frightened 

 and was picking up a great dry branch to strike her with, when I 

 called out to him to flap her in the face with his waist-cloth. This 

 he did vigorously, and this being more than she could endure, she 

 reluctantly crept off the nest, now complaining loudly, and joined 

 the male. There was only one egg : this the man brought, but 

 before he could reach me the female had regained the nest, and 

 after minutely examining it and making certain the egg was gone, 

 she stood up on the top and with bill, legs, and feet commenced 

 throwing the straw about in the air in the most furious manner as 

 if beside herself with rage. Then the male came up trumpeting 

 vigorously, but directly he came near she flew at Mm, and he 

 scrambled off, half-running, half-flapping, through the water, and 

 making more noise than ever. By this time I had received the egg, 

 and found the point of the young one's bill protruding, so sent the 

 man back with it sharp. As he approached, the female ran off, but 

 she must have seen what he was at, for before (having gently 

 laid the egg in the disordered nest, which he smoothed a little) 

 he could get off the island, the female was down upon the egg. 



