1889 Maine Sept & Oct B. Umbagog (Continued) one is often attracted by the gleam of the sunlight on their wet bills before he makes out the birds themselves. One, two, three, four, five, seven, nine, one after another, have emerged from a little brook among the grass: As they cross a space of open water in Indian file a few inches apart, each exactly in the other's wake, they remind one of long, low, narrow schooners without masts or rigging, piratical-looking craft of deep draggle and mysterious means of locomotion. They swim very swiftly and make little disturbance of the water—scarcely a ripple a fact to either side but leaving a boiling "wake" behind. As they approach the opposite shore they raise their heads a little and pause to listen & look around at the same time drawing in together in a cluster as the hindmost one overtakes the leader. They then lengthen out again or they scatter about to feed, turning up their tails and kicking their feet into water in their efforts to keep their heads, necks & fore parts beneath the surface. After working over a limited space for several minutes they resume the single file order & start on again. At times they have a curious habit of nodding the head abruptly & emphatically. This motion is often repeated many times in succession by every member of the flock. They rarely turn back on the same ground but usually keep on around the shore following its indentations closely, often covering a mile or more in the course of an hour. If the sun is shining they often climb up on isolated ledges or lumps of sand to press their feathers & bask in the sunshine. Frequently all but one or two go