Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 5 (1901).djvu/40

18 the birds might return, but they did not do so. I then returned to the nest farther up stream, when I had the satisfaction of seeing one of the old birds sitting; she left the nest on my approach, but it contained neither eggs nor young. The following evening this bird was again sitting; the nest now contained one newly-hatched Moor-hen, and both this and its parent scuttled away on seeing me. In the nests first found three young birds were in possession and were all asleep, one of them being in the new nest, which was now completed.

On July 7th I again visited these two nests, but a number of people near had frightened the birds, and they were not to be seen. A curious thing, however, was that another nest, similar to the second one, had been built, the three forming a kind of triangle. After this the birds were constantly seen to leave these nests when I approached. On the same day I went to the nest which on July 5th had contained one young bird. The little black Moor-hen was still there, and its parent had left before I arrived. I heard her on the other side of the stream, however, calling to the young bird to follow, which it did with characteristic alacrity. This nest had had much material added since I last saw it, and was consequently rather high above water; it was chiefly composed of fine dry grasses. On the two following evenings the nest became visibly smaller, and careful observation proved that the Moor-hens were moving it piece by piece to the other side of the stream, where the situation was more sheltered. The nest in which the young were hatched was a few yards from this roosting-nest, being built in a bush about ten feet above water-level. I watched the Moor-hens very closely to see whether they would make another nest when the young were hatched, with the result as described. The other three roosting-nests, built close together, were about twenty-five yards from the one which was used for incubation purposes.

In the spring of 1898 a nest was built beneath the roots of a tree on the stream-side; it contained eight eggs, and incubation lasted three weeks. Immediately the young were hatched a sleeping-nest was made about three yards from the first, in the middle of the stream, supported by a submerged tree. The original was afterwards deserted, and this one alone used. As the young grew, however, another was built, evidently because