ALMOST HUMAN 
3 62 
up to interrogate him, and in a moment or two he was joined by his mate 
and the two black swans. The duck got rather uneasy about their pro- 
longed conference over him, and attempted to move away from their 
vicinity. Such a commotion as he made disconcerted the onlookers tre- 
mendously. They moved aside to give him all the room he wanted for his 
exhibition of new swimming, and at once every bird about the pond came 
up hurriedly to watch the fun. He paused, obviously tired, several times 
en route for the island, and by the time he had splashed his way to land 
he had a great procession of gaping birds bringing up the rear. They 
stayed watching his movements on land for a while, and then swam in 
excited groups to find their own particular cronies among the gather- 
ing. Three white ducks met in a semi-circle and had a most animated 
conversation over the whole proceedings. They shook their heads as 
they quacked, and at last we were unspeakably amused to see the central 
one of the group break away and imitate the unfortunate drake for at 
least six strokes. He then came back to the other two as if to insist 
upon his contention that that was the way the strange bird had thought 
it right to swim. All the birds on the water had watched his demon- 
stration with interest, and seemed ready to follow him as they had 
followed the other, but he turned back again too quickly, and swam pro- 
perly towards the throng. A day or two later, a miserable, crest-fallen 
old bird was found prowling about outside his old quarters, waiting sadly 
for someone to come and let him in where his deficiencies would not make 
him an object of universal contempt. In the illustration “Beauty’s 
Home is Surely There,” he can be seen on the island, with his back turned 
to the dreaded water. 
A TREE-NESTING DUCK. 
Much interest is taken among naturalists in the question: How does 
a tree-nesting duck get her ducklings down to the water? Some people 
ridicule the idea of the mother getting her young ones on her back and 
flying down with them, and even go to the length of saying that she 
tumbles them out on to the turf below, or, in the event of the nest over- 
hanging the water, into the pool itself. Mr. Wilkie states this is entirely 
contrary to Nature’s way of doing things. Whenever she arranges a 
scheme of bringing young life into the world, she makes minutest pro- 
vision for their proper chances of existing, and, to tumble young ducklings 
incontinently from a tree would be a sure way of destroying at least half, 
and maiming those not actually killed. There was a Korean duck in 
the gardens for years, and, although not a true tree-nesting duck, she 
always built her nest in a circular pigeon house that stood about twelve 
