THE PIED-BILLED DOBCHICK. 325 



and winter, in the east and north-west in spring and summer, mostly on 

 fresh waters of all descriptions, yet when these are covered with ice, on bays 

 and estuaries, where it searches for shrimps and fry, although under other 

 circumstances such haunts are not congenial to it. It is found in New 

 Brunswick 'and Nova Scotia, but I did not meet with it in Labrador or 

 Newfoundland. 



I had the good fortune, on the 28th of June, to stumble upon a nest of 

 this bird near the banks of the Wabash river, above Vincennes. It was 

 large for the bird, raised several inches above the muddy and reedy shores 

 of a pond, only a few feet from the water, and composed of decayed weeds, 

 rushes, and earth. On being discovered, the sitting bird slid over the mud, 

 along a path that led directly to the water, in which it immediately dived, 

 and I saw no more of it for about twenty minutes. The eggs, which were 

 five, measured an inch and a quarter, by seven and a half-eighths, were 

 smooth, rather rounded, and of a light greenish-white colour. On breaking 

 one of them, I found it to contain a chick considerably advanced, which 

 induced me to leave the rest untouched, and before I departed I saw the 

 bird, which I believed to be the female, swimming low at a distance. I 

 watched it for some time, but could not discover another, and walked away 

 to allow it to resume its occupation. The nest was fixed among the stalks 

 of strong reeds, but was not attached to any of them. In the month of 

 August, while on the Cayuga lakes, I saw one of these birds with a brood of 

 young about half grown, but could not obtain a single specimen, as they 

 dived with extreme quickness, and eluded all pursuit. 



Few birds plunge with more rapidity than this species, which, during 

 submersion, employs its wings, as I had an opportunity of observing while 

 some were passing under a boat when I was in pursuit of them. On the 

 w r ater it is almost impossible to catch them, unless they have been injured in 

 the wing, when they are unable to dive without difficulty. The curious 

 habit which they have of sinking gradually backward in the water, at the 

 sight of an enemy, is very pleasing to observe. Not a ripple do they leave 

 on the spot where they have disappeared, and one unacquainted with them 

 can hardly conceive that a bird could have escaped in so dexterous a manner. 

 My friend Thomas MacCtjlloch gave me an account of one which, having 

 been observed on a small mill-dam, was pursued by the miller's sons, who, 

 after chasing it fully an hour, could not even drive it on shore. Their 

 father, however, who was as anxious as themselves to see the curious crea- 

 ture, drained the pond, when the little thing was seen crawling over the 

 mud in a manner not unlike that of a turtle. It was now easily caught, as it 

 was not able to rise on wing, the species, it seems, being incapable of spring- 



