6o THE STORY OF THE BIRDS 



between each stroke. They swim and dive 

 with wonderful skill, and also possess the habit 

 of sinking themselves at will in the water until 

 perhaps only the tip of the beak is exposed. 

 Their plumage is dense and compact, whilst the 

 Grebes possess the peculiarity of having the 

 tail-feathers aborted. Both Divers and Grebes 

 stand upon the metatarsus, and the ventropodal 

 position has been claimed as their exclusive 

 attitude upon land, but the evidence does not 

 warrant this (Conf. Bird Life in a Southern 

 County^ p. 251). The flight of the Divers is 

 rapid and strong, some of the species perform- 

 ing long migratory journeys ; the Grebes are 

 not such strong fliers, perhaps, but many of the 

 species are migratory. Some of the latter birds 

 are famous for the crests and tippets that they 

 assume just prior to the breeding season. The 

 Divers make slight nests upon the ground and 

 lay two spotted eggs ; the Grebes make a more 

 or less floating nest — a large mass of vegetation 

 with a cavity at the top in which the half-dozen 

 eggs are deposited. These are very elliptic in 

 form, white in colour and chalky in texture. 

 The Divers feed principally upon fish, the Grebes 

 upon aquatic insects, molluscs, crustaceans, small 

 fish, and various vegetable fragments. The notes 



