88o 



THE WESTERN GREBE. 



decayiiii;' xcgctalion. TIk- Western (irehc lakes less ]);iins than niosl 

 iiK-nil)ers of its group to cover its eggs l)efi>re lea\-ing tlie nest. Occa- 

 sionally a few coarse gra.sses are pulled (j\er the egg.s, and now and then 

 a nest . is really covered. Tlie eggs are subject to many \ icissitudes. 

 Rax'ens esteem them great dainties. Forster's Tern does not, apparentlv, 

 api)ro|)riate the eggs, but makes no scruple in dri\ing the rightful owner 

 from a nest which she happens to co\et for her (jwn uses. One 

 wonders at the tame submission of a bird so splendidly armed, but the 



Taken at Brook Lake. 



NEST .'WD liCC.S or W HSTKRN CKKHK. 



NEST PROH.ABI.Y CONTAINS F.C.GS OF MORE THAN ONE BIRD. 



Pholo by the Author 



Terns are really verv ugly and ha\e the ad\antage in being able to strike 

 from above. 



All these sources nf annovance, liowe\er. jiale into insignificance be- 

 fore the devastation ot a storm. Ha\ing a (irebe col()n\- of some fifty 

 nests under surveillance, I once lav out thru a series of thunder-storms 

 on the night of May 31st, i<)05, (thc\- were making of the Big Bend wheat 

 crop that \ear). In the morning I found tliat lialf of tlie drebe nestsJ 

 had been wrecked and their contents scattered, while manv of the re- 



