A WEEDY MEAL 301 



habits amongst animals, as well as amongst our- 

 selves, seems to me to have been too much over- 

 looked. That the additions made by the dabchick 

 — as well as the crested grebe — to the nest, during 

 incubation, and the frequent pulling of it about, 

 answer no real purpose, and might well be dispensed 

 with, I have, myself, no doubt. 



On the last of these two visits, the male bird 

 jumped once upon the nest, whilst the female was 

 still sitting, and took his place as she went off. 

 Next day, I noticed something quite small move 

 upon the nest, against, and partly under, the sitting 

 bird. With the glasses I at once made this out to 

 be a chick, which was sitting beneath the rump and 

 between the wing-tips of the dam, with its head 

 looking the contrary way to hers. As the male, 

 now, swam up, the chick leaned forward and 

 stretched out its neck, whilst he, doing the same 

 upwards over the nest's rim, the tips of their two 

 bills just touched, or seemed to me to do so. The 

 old bird had just been dipping for weeds, and may 

 have had a little in his bill, but I could not, actually, 

 see that any feeding took place. Possibly that was 

 not the idea. The male then swam out, and con- 

 tinued, for some time, to dip about for weed, and to 

 place it on the nest. Then, again, he stretched his 

 neck up — inquiringly, as it were — towards the little 

 chick, who leaned out and down to him, as before— - 

 but, this time, the bills did not touch. This was on 

 the 1 8th. On the 15th the eggs were still un- 

 hatched, as I had seen all four of them lying quite 

 exposed in the nest ; but some may have been 

 hatched on the 17 th, when the male, for the first 



