162 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



weeds edging the structure. From her sitting so steadily, and 

 her haste to return to the nest, I have little doubt that this is 

 the female bird, and if so, as the male dived for weeds and 

 brought them to the nest in the most accustomed manner, I 

 imagine that both birds help in the building of it, for one can 

 hardly suppose that the male alone does so. Whilst sitting the 

 bird has her neck bent back between the shoulders in an easy 

 curve, the head being just raised above the back, and held 

 straight, with the beak pointing forward. On any alarm it is 

 stretched a little forward, or raised straight up. When the 

 female has sat like this for about an hour, the male again swims 

 up, and, diving, brings some more weeds to the nest. He does 

 this two or three times, bringing once a large green stalk of 

 some plant or lily, and again quite a mass of weeds. The birds 

 then, I think, arrange this a little together, but not much in this 

 way appears to be done, and what is, principally by the male. 

 There is then a short interval, during which the male swims 

 about at a moderate distance from the nest, returning to which 

 he now, to my astonishment, springs upon it, and, raising himself 

 upright, or almost so, on his legs, which are placed as far back 

 as a Penguin's, he pairs, or attempts to pair, with the female. If 

 successful, the act is of extremely short duration, and, taking the 

 water again, the male bird swims away. He returns, and again 

 swims away several times at rather longer intervals than formerly, 

 sometimes, but not often, bringing a little weed in his bill. 

 During this time the female bird is occupied a little, but not, I 

 think, very much, in arranging the materials of the nest. She is 

 moving her head and neck freely about ; but, if I mistake not, when 

 she does this she is only preening herself. On one of the returns 

 of the male bird, I notice that she bends down her head so that 

 the beak, I think, touches the water, lying thus flat all along the 

 nest ; and whilst in this position the male swims to that side 

 of the nest towards which her tail is turned, and seems two or 

 three times to be on the point of leaping up again in order to 

 pair as before, which, however, he does not do, but again swims 

 off. The pairing, then, of these birds takes place on the nest, 

 which, it would now seem, is not completed ; nor can I think, 

 under these circumstances, that the eggs are yet laid, or even 

 that the hen is sitting to lay them. It would appear, that 



