226 Notes on the Birds of a Ballast Pit. 
lake, but they may very easily have escaped iny observation, as 
my visits have been very infrequent. About the end of February, 
or early in March, a single grebe or perhaps a pair, or even two 
pairs, willarrive on the water and they soon assume the singularly 
striking breeding plumage. Not more than one pair has in my 
- experience ever remained to nest, the stronger pair very likely 
driving away the weaker. 
On March toth, 1902, I was lucky enough to be able to make 
some interesting notes on these birds which I will repeat here as 
I jotted them down in my note books at the time :—“ Ballast 
Pit, 4-45 p.m. Damp, warm, hazy day, no wind. Great-crested 
grebe. Two pairs in full plumage. I watched the grebes for 
some time. When I first arrived one pair were in the centre of 
the piece of water, preening their feathers, sometimes lying on 
their side and scratching the head with the foot. The second 
pair were near the west end of the water. While watching the 
first pair they suddenly took alarm at something, and swimming 
very low in the water, only their heads being visible, they made 
off at a great pace towards the Kast end of the pit. ‘They swam 
long distances under water, and when they came up they hardly 
showed above the water, and soon dived again. Icould not at 
first make out what had alarmed them as I was well hidden and 
no one else seemed to be in sight. I soon noticed however that 
the other pair of grebes was bearing down upon the first pair, and 
evidently intending to drive them from the centre of the water. 
The female lagged behind but the male came on until the first 
pair had retreated to a distance and then he remained in the 
centre floating very high in the water, and began calling to his 
mate, sometimes’‘also, but not while calling, opening his bill very 
wide as though yawning. The note somewhat resembled the 
harsh croak of a carrion crow but not nearly so loud. It was 
uttered about three times in succession with about a seconds 
interval between each croak. After he had called for some little 
‘time, a few minutes, the female began to swim towards him. 
When she got fairly near to him he crouched down on the water, 
raised his wings and ruffled up his feathers just as an angry swan 
will do, and also seemed to lay his head back as a swan does, 
