Pied-Billed Grebe Notes 13 



This is all I have had to do with owls for the last live or 

 six days. 



PIED-BILLED GREBE NOTES. 



BY IRA N. GABRIELSON. 



Ever since the time, when as a small boy, I first discovered 

 that the mass of decaying vegetation found floating in the 

 swamps was the nest of the Pied-billed Grebe {Podilymhus 

 podiceps) this species has been of great interest to me. In 

 the course of observations from year to year a few facts of 

 interest have been noted that I do not recall seeing in print. 



The species nests here (Northwestern Iowa*) around the 

 edge of the lakes and ponds in the rushes and in the cat-tail 

 gwamps. The nest is built of decaying vegetation and is 

 usually floating, slightly anchored to the surrounding reeds. 

 The eggs, when left, are completely covered with the nest 

 material and occasionally a few green reeds. The statement 

 is often seen that the bird covers the eggs in this manner, 

 but I do not remember of seeing any explanation as to how 

 this was accomplished. After watching many times one was 

 discovered in the act. She stood or rather sat on the edge 

 of the nest and used the beak to root the nest material over 

 the eggs. In this manner she worked entirely around the 

 eggs until they were hidden from view. The beak was then 

 used, much as a robin uses hers in ironing the nest, to spread 

 the material around. She then seized one or two reeds, broke 

 them off with a quick sidewise jerk of the head, laid them 

 across the nest, and sliding into the water swam away. 



It is commonly known that many birds will feign injury 

 to entice an intruder away from the nest or young, but to 

 me, at least, it was a great surprise to know that the Pied- 

 billed Grebe would occasionally resort to this artifice. Only 

 two instances of this have come to my notice, and both of 

 these occurred on the same day, June 26, 1913. In com- 



* This includes notes made in a Nebraska swamp just across the Mis- 

 souri Eiver from Sioux City, Iowa, as well as those in Iowa. 



