882 THE WESTERN GREBE. 



U|)(in ihi- hark "i the neck ;in(l hghler In \\liiti>h upini the uniieri)arts, ami 

 boastiiij^- six and a half inches of length iiuliidiiuj feet. Baby Spearbearer 

 was not in the least shy: (in the contrary he hailed us as long-lost friends, 

 and struck out to meet us as we drew near. Me had a fully developed 

 instinct to follow cover or luotion. for when we thrust hini away upon 

 the end of a paddle and dro])ped hint in the water, he instantly struck out 

 for the canoe again and was not satislied until taken up in hand. It seemed 

 cruel to desert him, hut what could we do? It is easier to pet up a waif than 

 to send it home. Moremer, possibly it was our business. Let's think, jack. 

 Hav'n't we heard that cry somewhere before? A hurried visit to the recently 

 endowed nest confirmed our suspicious. The foster mother kept \'igii on 

 five eggs, hiU we had given her six. 



Western (irebes mate faithfully and spend much time in close and 

 amicable association with their consorts. A proud sight is the male as he 

 rows behind or beside his mate. One I saw arched his neck like a high- 

 checked horse with hill close in and jiointing down: and he maintained 

 this conscious attitude for a numlier of minutes. As he did .so the black of 

 crown and neck, set oti:" by the curving white core of the throat, made a 

 perfect interrogation pi>int. 



.\ courting evolution sometimes witnessed deserves, whatexer its im- 

 mediate significance, the name of wedding march, for it is a stately affair, 

 partici])ated in, so far as fine can judge, by both luale and female. In 

 this, the female leading hut probalily under the itistigation of the cock, 

 they rise and tread the surface of the water standing upright the while 

 with outstretched or (|ui\ering wing> .and with necks beautifully arched, 

 and lhe\- strike the water so \igorously with their feet as to (|uite tuaintain 

 their elevated ]iosition. and to make slow progress forward. The birds 

 are never less than three feet apart and there is no apparent ilifference 

 in behavior or interest. When a dozen feet or so have been covered by 

 this statelv march both collapse and plunge under water head fir.st. This 

 procession I have witnessed several times, ;uid it was once participated in 

 by three birds on e(|ual tenus. 



These are rare glimpses, h'or the rest the Western Grebe is a voice, 

 high atid broken, like nothing else perha])S so much as the creak of a 

 neglected pulleyd)lock. Krik. krik, krik. krik. comes from off the blue 

 waters of Bellingham Kay. and _\on think of the brown bastions and 

 weedy recesses of Brook Lake in Douglas County. Krik. krik. krik, 

 krik comes the weird ciw from off' the bosom of the lake, a little anxious 

 now as vou bend over the side of your canoe to count the eggs: and you 

 pause a moment to recall the distant fir tree and to sniff' the salty air of 

 Puget Sound. 



