THROUGH WILD EUROPE 183 



by the aid of my glass, a Goerz prism, could distin- 

 guish Little Grebes from the Black-necked Grebes 

 (Podiceps nigricollis), much to the surprise of my 

 companions ; there were also Mallards, Pochards, 

 Coots, and other similar birds in great numbers. 



We were soon afloat with some boatmen, who 

 have been employed by Cerva for years, and I was 

 surprised to find them using the scientific names of 

 the birds as if they were perfectly familiar with 

 them. We had not proceeded very far when I saw 

 a Black- necked Grebe sitting on its nest at a little 

 distance, and pointed it out to the rest. This 

 species was quite new to me, and I was naturally 

 rather pleased at having found a nest, but the 

 men proceeded on their way, saying we should 

 soon see plenty more. Sure enough, we did see 

 plenty more, and nearly always found them nest- 

 ing in small colonies. The Black-necked Grebe 

 appeared to be the predominant species, but with 

 them was sometimes a single nest of the Little 

 Grebe (Podiceps minor), or of the beautiful Crested 

 Grebe [Podiceps cristatus). It was very late in the 

 year (June 11), and the clutches were small and the 

 eggs much incubated. None of the nests of Podiceps 

 nigricollis contained more than three eggs, the 

 majority only two. Like all Grebes' eggs which 

 have been laid more than a few days, these were 

 stained a dark mahogany brown from the feet of 



