073 Mr. C. B. Horsbrugli : Ornitholo(jical Notes 



It is a curious sight to witness the courting antics of these 

 hirds. A pair may be swimming about within a short distance 

 of one another, when the m;ile, on nearer approach to the 

 female, suddenly raises liis body at right angles to the water 

 and vigorously pursues her for a yard or two. The latter 

 also progresses in this curious fashion, and both birds always 

 Avail at the top of their voices. This weird performance is 

 gone through several times in the cours^e of the day, and 

 possibly night. 



Colymlms auritus. Horned Grebe. 



On another small lake close to our house I noticed a 

 single l)ird of the above species on May 3, and three more on. 

 tlie following day. A few days later, whilst watching a pair 

 of Golden-eye and Canvas-backed Ducks on this same spot, 

 I saw a female Grebe dive and viciously nip the male Canvas- 

 back on the belly. The latter, after being thus " torpedoed," 

 flew off to more peaceful waters. 



These Grebes also assume quaint courting attitudes : one 

 of the most usual is that the male bird lays his head and 

 neck parallel with the water, at other times hunching-up 

 his back aud keeping head and neck in-drawn to the body. 

 I do not remember ever seeing these birds take flight. They 

 were common everywhere as the nesting-season approached, 

 and as a rule were remarkably tame. On May 13 a pair 

 Avere busy nest-building, and by the i8th had made a bulky 

 structure, which had its base on the bottom of the lake in 

 about two feet of water. The birds swam right up to me 

 whilst immersed to my knees, but Avere voiceless. By the 

 30th of the month another nest on a small pond contained 

 four fresh eggs, whilst the pair previously mentioned had 

 two eggs. 



Podilymhus podiceps. Pied-billed Grebe. 



On June 2, at Buffalo Lake, I obtained an excellent 

 photograph of a nest containing seven eggs, and at Spotted 

 Lake found a fairly large colony on June 19 (see note 

 under Franklin's Gull) . These birds appeared much more 

 warv than the Western and Holboell's Grebes. 



