878 



THI{ \VKS']"ERX GREIIE. 



.^rounds llian ina\- Ik- t'ouiul in l'',a>lcrn W'ashiiigti >n ; Ijiit ru.i;cl Simiid in 

 winter furnishes llie.se handsdnie (^irebes an as_\-lnin second l<i none. The 

 l>irds 1)egin to an-i\e at Seniialinioo Ra\- in soniewlial ilesultory fasliion 

 late in SeiJteniber, but their numbers are rapidly augmented so that by 

 the middle of October companies of several thousand may be encountered. 

 There is considerable freedom of movement among them, so that tomor- 

 row's flood mav succeed today's scarcity for the eager student ; but a large 

 ]iro])orti(jn of the birds seen s]iend the winter with us somewhere. 



'{'be fall arrivals 

 ai"e somewhat un- 

 so])liisticated. and 

 will ]iermit us to 

 drift u ]) c lose 

 enough to observe 

 the cruel blood-red 

 e \" e w h i c b a])- 

 pri i|ii'iately acc( im- 

 panies the ja\"elin 

 beak. The necks of 

 these birds are \ery 

 mobile and their 

 heads are scarcely 

 at rest for an in- 

 stant, sa\-e as the 

 gaze is riveted by 

 fear or momentar\- 

 curiosity. If fish- 

 ing is dull and the 

 1 il)ser\ er on his 

 good behavior, the 

 comi)an_\- will float 

 at ease rather than 

 excite itself to pull 

 aw'ay : and now and then a bird will seek relief bv reaching upward and 

 outward with one of iis gi-een paddles and Avagging it \-igorousl\-, a]ii)arentlv 

 with no intended slight. 



b'isb form tlie ])rinci])al diet of tlu-se grebes, and in the i)ursuit of 

 them the birds exhibit great dexterity. Scliools of herring and the 

 like are followed until capacit\- is exhausted. Indeed, the apparent 

 gregariousness of this s])ecies in winter is probabh' due almost entirely 

 to the consolidation of its ]irey. and the size of tlie grebe company ob- 

 ser\'ed is a loose inde.x of tlie number of fish below. If successfullv 



Taken 111 Oregon. 



aatsansB 



to by Boliliiiaii and I'iiilcy. 



wnsTiiRx r.RF.r.i:, 



