i 
Jan., 1919 A RETURN TO THE DAKOTA LAKE REGION 5 
at last by deep wading I had discovered a colony of nests the parents had al- 
ready disappeared—the slough curtain had been dropped before my face. But 
from the vantage of the Coulee Bridge, I looked down on the birds pursuing 
their natural avocations largely unconscious of observation. The relief was so 
ereat that coulees, bridges, and high banks became my desiderata for the rest 
of the season. 
Looking down on the Coulee to the west of the Bridge, only about a week 
after my discovery of the Coots’ nests, I saw a gray, white-billed parent Coot 
swim out from the cane and marsh grass of the opposite bank and start across 
the water followed one by one by a long file of droll little red-headed, black- 
bodied young ones like the nestling I had put back among its brother eggs in 
its nest. With riveted gaze I joyfully counted eight of the swimmers, and aft- 
erwards when they recrossed the channel, one more had béen added to the 
brood. ! 
Three days later I was fortunate enough to find what I took to be two par 
ents feeding their brood on the east side of the Coulee. That the two adults 
were parents of the one brood I inferred from seeing them together before | 
discovered the young, and finally seeing them all swim about together. When 
first seen the old Coots were crossing to the marsh vegetation on my side of 
the Coulee, possibly to see if they might better bring the young across to feed 
them ; but after a few moments both returned, one swimming against the wind 
with head lowered. The north side of the Coulee was so well lit by the morning 
sun that I could see the small Red Tops swim through the wind-made arches of 
marsli grass, and when they were rejoined by their parents and divided into 
two squads, could watch them being slowly led up and down the edge of the 
Coulee ; now outside, in sight—when I saw a parent dig around at the root of 
a cane—now in the cane labyrinth hidden from view, while the parents fed 
them. After working along different beats for a time, the parents led their 
broods up toward each other, but then as if realizing that it was easier to feed 
each little group by itself, turned and swam off in opposite directions. One 
parent who was followed by three young had a nervous air as if new to such re- 
sponsibilities for little mouths, and led the ducklings along with its quick 
pep’, pep’, picking rapidly from the surface of the water, one side and then the 
etner, turning back to let its small followers take the food from its bill. 
A week later, on my third visit, I spent an hour and a half at the Bridge 
waiching the Coots feed their young. As before, if my inference were correct, 
ihe two parents were taking care of separate squads. This morning instead of 
picking up tiny water plants from the surface, they got the food mainly under 
water, sometimes merely putting the head under and making dabs at the weeds, 
and sometimes diving for them. One parent—the mother, let us say—when 
followed a yard or two behind by two Red Tops dived and turned around un- 
der water coming up facing the other way to meet the laggards. I could see 
their red sealing wax bills open for the food held out to them. The mother 
may have been diving deeper than usual, for she would actually hop up out of the 
water So that her long legs showed, and then, pcinting down her bill as a boy 
puts mis hands together in diving from a height, would disappear below. When 
igen rose over her, the young which had followed ner would swim back 
ee ok the he and wait. When she reappeared they would 
ee as ki € would swim back to them. Sometimes they would be so 
jj ely reached back to them. She once gave one a piece of fila- 
