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STRANGE DWELLINGS . 
Sometimes the nest is made on a branch, and in that case 
the bird selects a very low bough which overhangs the water. 
I have found several nests thus placed, and in one case the 
only method of getting at the nest was to enter the water and 
WATER HEN AND NEST. 
swim round to it. It is a large and rudely made nest, and from 
its size appears to be more conspicuous than is really the case. 
When it is placed on a bough, the twigs of the same branch 
often dip into the water, and the nest looks like a bunch of 
