180 THE AUSTRALIAN NATURALIST’. 
Many of you know how the Paradise Fish (Macro- 
podes) breeds, and have watched the construction of the 
nest and the method of depositing the eggs. The fish 
make a nest of air-bells by inhaling air from the surface, 
holding it in the mouth for a short time, and then letting 
it escape mixed with saliva. A mass of coherent air- 
bells, two to three inches in circumference, is thus formed, 
and the eggs which have been laid are gathered by the 
male fish in his mouth and placed amongst the air bubbles. 
He watches over the eggs until hatched, and the young 
until old enough to take care of themselves. 
The Burmese eel acts in a very similar manner. Al- 
ways the one eel gathers the eggs and places them in the 
air-bubble nest, watching them unremittingly until hatched. 
The eggs are fairly heavy and readily sink from the nest 
when the tank is tapped or the water disturbed; but the 
fish replaces them immediately. I have seen the eel gather 
as many as eight eggs in his mouth at once and then put 
them back in the nest. He pokes his head right through 
the nest and endeavours to place the eggs on top of the 
mass of bubbles. 
In about eight days the young are plainly visible, 
wriggling about in the egg. The eggs, being on top of 
the nest, and in some cases quite half an inch above water- 
level, are fairly dry, and the embryo eels become- very 
active when the eggs are moistened by sprinkling with 
water. 
The eggs hatch in twelve days, and the young re- 
main in the nest for quite a week. A couple of weeks 
after the eggs were laid I found one of the adults dead 
at the bottom of the tank. Perhaps it had been trying to 
get at the young and had paid the penalty. 
LAND RAIL AND DOMESTIC DUCK. 
By Harry Burrell. 
Early in September, 1908, I induced a Land Rail 
(Hypotaenidia philippinensis) to build her nest in a hol- 
low log arranged on a box two feet from the ground. My 
