GREAT CRESTED GREBE. 309 



chases a rival. There is also a pleasant twanging banjo note 

 and a rasping whirr. The hunger-cry of the young is a wheezy 

 and insistent tcheep^ tcheep, t cheep. Strange courtship antics 

 begin in January, even before the frill is developed ; the ear- 

 tufts are never really lost ; the ruff is most pronounced in the 

 male. Mr. E. Selous and Prof. J. Huxley have described these 

 actions at great length, but some of the attitudes they mention 

 are seldom seen. Often, however, two birds approach with 

 necks stretched along the water, then rear themselves, breast 

 to breast, stretching the necks to full extent and spreading 

 wide the frills, whilst they gently fence with their bills. One 

 or both will dive for weed and dangle it at the other, suggest- 

 ing nest construction. During the upright caress both will 

 suddenly dip their necks until the crown nearly touches the 

 back ; the head is usually vigorously shaken after the fencing. 

 When the male approaches the female with head depressed, the 

 ruff is closed and the ear-tufts at times loll over like wattles. 

 Nest construction may begin in March, but eggs are laid from 

 April until August ; second broods have been recorded, but 

 first broods frequently come to nought ; I have seen young 

 still following their parents for food in November. The nest 

 (Plate 133) is a floating mass of wet decaying weed, moored 

 amongst reeds, lihes, or other aquatic vegetation. The green 

 or blue tinge of the elongated %%% (Plate 153) is hidden by a 

 chalky outer covering, which soon is permanently stained with 

 vegetable juices. When disturbed the sitting bird raises itself, 

 and with rapid right and left pecks covers the eggs with nesting 

 material, then slides into the water and dives. Four is the 

 normal number of eggs. Both birds incubate and tend the 

 young, carrying them at first in a cradle formed by the slightly 

 upraised wings ; the pose of the parent is then distinctly higher 

 than usual. The nestling has close cinnamon down striped 

 with glossy black, the stripes most distinct on the neck ; the 

 crown is pinkish buff surrounded by black, and in front is a 



