Grebes. 167 



unconmion there as it is here. I only saw the one specimen 

 during a sojourn of fiviei years. It is, I understand, quite 

 common in the colder states in the north and east, as well as 

 in Canada. The bird that takes the place of our Dabchick 

 in North America is P. podiceps, commonly called the Hell 

 Diver I Why, I don't quite know. One has always been led 

 to believe that Hell was the one place in which water was at 

 a premium, and where swimming and diving couldn't be in- 

 dulged in. As divers, they easily take first place. They are 

 the only birds that I have seen that can dive tail first. If 

 suddenly surprised from' the front, they just throw a back 

 somersault and disappear. They can also sink at will and it 

 isi very amusing to watch them gradually submerging them- 

 selves when any object they may be inspecting seems to ihem 

 as if it might be dangerous. I have often had one examine 

 me from' a distance of a few feet, for' a minute or more at a 

 time, its head and neck only being above the water, the 

 length of the neck visible, varying as the bird's contidence 

 in my harmlessness increased or declined. Their nest is a 

 floating mass of weeds, similar to that of our Dabchick, and 

 several nests are found together. The grebe, with which I can 

 fairly claim to have the closest acquaintance, is the largest of 

 its kind, the grebe of commerce {Aechmophonis occid entails). 

 This bird, when fashion demands, is slaughtered in .housands. 

 just as are the seal and other fur-bearing animals. Truly our 

 lady friends have much to answer for. Luckily, from the 

 birds' point of view, theJ demand for grebe-fur is a very 

 intermittent one, and for long periods there is no sale for it 

 in any of the markets, consequently, the birds are then abso- 

 lutely unmolested, and their numbers soon again become 

 normal. My acquaintance with this bird was made on Lake 

 Buena Vista, Southern California. Early in the spring very 

 many of these birds visited the Lake, but whether to breed 

 or simply as a resting, place on their way to more northern 

 latitudes, I am unable to say. I am inclined to think the 

 latter, as, although 1 spent^ the season there well into May, 

 I never came across one of their nests. They are rather timid 

 birds, but like the Pronghorn Antelope, curiosity is an obses- 

 sion with them, and when their skins are in demand this leads 



