Page:The Emu volume 13.djvu/258

 built a chain further up the swamp, in a tangle of blackberries and short reeds. The young birds left the nest on the 15th December. I was fortunate enough to handle one of these, the second clutch of young ones that I had seen. When ready to leave the nest the chick is clothed with down, which is a shining greenish-black, similar to the sheen on the feathers of a Crow in good plumage. The bill is straight, shorter than the toes, and is black from the tip to half-way ; from there it is white to the base. Eyes are deep ruby, with a shade of black — not bright, like those of the parents ; legs long, and, like the feet, greyish greenish-black ; toes wide apart and inch in length. The parent birds call their brood with a purring sound, while the young answer with a "squeak," similar to a chicken's cry. When disturbed they squat in the rushes, and the adult birds perform grotesque antics and utter strange sounds to entice the intruder away. A special call is used to gather the fledglings together after the danger has passed.

One afternoon in December my sister and I were exploring the banks of a creek. I struck some rubbish at the sides with a stick. Instantly there was a splash, and I caught sight of a brown bird as it dashed under the tangle of a blackberry-covered island. The Crake alarm call rang out, and was answered from the bank on our side. Leaning over the edge, I could just see a nest in a tangle of reeds, but it was empty. One cannot tell whether nests have been used or not. Unlike the Rails, Spotless Crakes do not leave the egg-shells in the nest. Choosing a good position for watching, we waited. The water was 4 feet deep, and flowing steadily. I trained my eyes on the cover from whence the male bird had answered, and saw him come out and cross over to the island. It swam with the body under water, landed, and with a quick, crouching run, joined the female. Then the birds were silent. We hunted, but found only an old nest. We moved away, and after a few minutes the call for the young sounded, and was answered by squeaks from three directions. Presently a chick swam up the creek close to the bank, where the movement of the current was not felt ; another called from the island ; and a third from under the first nest found. We could see it on the edge of the reeds. It toddled to the water, then drew back as if afraid. Finally, the coaxing of its mother per- suaded it, and it scrambled across.

In all this season I have inspected 19 nests (containing eggs) of the Spotless Crake, and handled three broods, located several others by the squeaks of the chicks, and examined 70 nests which, as far as I know, were never used, or probably were robbed. These nests were all placed in tussocks, and height ranged from I foot to 3½ feet above the water or slush. Sword-grass clumps were favoured, but a few birds chose the tall, thick reeds (Juncus pallidus), and toward the end of the season we found several nests in rushes in thick beds of tall, wild peppermint in the midst of bog. The birds do not seem to mind animals grazing through