THE LITTLE GREBE 283 



on the banks and in the shallows. The spawn of the frog 

 and of various kinds of fish is also eaten, and it occasionally 

 devours a few buds and shoots of herbaoe. On the coasts 

 and in the brackish waters near them it feeds largely on 

 shrimps, whilst in the running streams the larv?e of the 

 drake and caddisfly is frequently caught. 



The Little Grebe breeds early, and rears several broods 

 in the year. If the weather is mild, we may begin to search 

 for its bulky nest amongst the reeds by the middle of April, 

 but in backward seasons it is of little use to go in quest of it 

 before the beginning of May. The Little Grebe usually 

 builds a large floating nest, which is best described as a mass 

 of aquatic rubbish, with a little cavity at the top, in which 

 the eggs are laid. Dead reeds and rushes, grass pulled up 

 by the roots, living and dead water weeds — all are massed 

 together in rude confusion ; but the hollow containing the 

 eggs is more neatly finished. Sometimes the nest is made 

 amongst the tall rank vegetation on the bank, at others it is 

 built between the bank and a dense thicket of reeds, while 

 yet again it is often at some distance from the shore, floating 

 on the edge of the tall flags and rushes. The nest usually 

 contains five eggs, but as likely as not only three or four — in 

 rarer cases as many as six. These when newly laid are pale 

 bluish -white, but soon become stained and dirty through 

 contact with the wet nest and the feet of the old birds. 

 They are rather pecidiar in shape, being almost as much 

 pointed at one end as the other, and the shell is rather coarse 

 in texture. 



There is much of interest in the nesting economy of this 

 little bird. In the first place, when leaving its nest it always 

 carefully covers its eggs with bits of weed and rush, doing 

 this in some cases remarkably quickly. At a moment's 

 warning the hen will contrive to cover her eggs before leaving 

 them ; and she must be flushed from her nest very suddenly 



