Ornithology of Northern Africa. 159 



The Water Rail and Moor Hen breed here abundantly ; and 

 we were rewarded by a single nest of the Great Purple Gallinule 

 {Porphyrio hyadnthinits). A magnificent fellow he is, as he rises 

 sluggishly from a dense mass of water-weed, showing his rich 

 purple sheen in the sun-light, and hanging behind him his huge 

 pink legs and feet. His nest is very like that of the Coot ; 

 but the number of eggs seems fewer, four being the largest 

 number I have taken in one sitting, though the complement 

 was very probably not complete. I need not add anything to 

 what Mr. Salvin has stated (Ibis, vol. i. p. 361), as to the preda- 

 tory habits of this bird. The eggs surpass in beauty, to my eye, 

 those of any other of the class; their rich pink ground, with 

 their red, russet, and brown spots, are very characteristic. 



Every here and there we came upon a nest of the Little Grebe 

 {Podiceps minor) , and occasionally upon that of the Great Crested 

 Grebe {Podiceps anstatus) ; but it was rather late for both these 

 species, which build before the end of April, and already several 

 broods had been hatched. Still, fifty eggs of one and about 

 a dozen of the other was not a bad morning's take. At length, 

 in a little secluded opening, entirely surrounded by tall reeds, 

 through which we had the greatest difficulty in forcing the 

 punt, we came upon a colony of Eared Grebes {Podiceps auritus), 

 the chief object of my search. There appears to be this singular 

 difference between the Eared and the Crested or Lesser Grebes; 

 that while the two latter, though abundant thi*oughout the Lake, 

 are not strictly gregarious, the former builds in societies more 

 densely crowded than any rookery. It is also later in its nidi- 

 fication ; for, of nearly fifty nests I examined, not one was incu- 

 bated, though most contained their full allowance of four or five 

 eggs. The nests, formed like those of other Grebes, were raised 

 on artificial islets, frequently almost touching each other, and 

 sometimes piled on stout foundations rising from more than a 

 yard under water. The eggs are a trifle smaller than those of P. 

 sclavonicus, which appear to do duty for them in many collections. 

 We shot several of the birds, which, of course, were in very fine 

 plumage, but we were not a little puzzled by the sudden disap- 

 pearance of several which had fallen dead within twenty yards 

 of us. At length, on pushing out in our punt into the open 



