LITTLE GREBE. 471 



parents took charge of them tlic other sat upon five eggs in another nest 

 in a similar situation on the other side of the pond. She was very restless, 

 constantly getting off and on the nest. At length she found me out, and 

 after carefully covering her eggs slipped into the water behind the nest and 

 remained there until I came up. Four days later some of the eggs were 

 hatched. The birds slipped ofE the nest on my approach, but remained 

 among the rushes close by. I waited a few minutes and then plainly 

 heard the cheeping of a young bird, so I drove away the parent and imme- 

 diately afterwards tlie young ones Avere floating a little away from the 

 shore. The other parent bird had a young one further along the bank, so 

 I ran towards it ; but the young bird scrambled under the wing of its 

 parent, who dived away with it. The young one, however, came to the 

 surface about ten yards from shore. The young bird seemed able to dive 

 unassisted about two yards. Old and young use their legs like a frog, 

 horizontally, striking both at once, and bringing their feet together at the 

 end of the stroke. I have seen the old ones diving in clear water some 

 distance, but they did not use their wings. I spent the following day 

 watching the Dabchicks through a telescope. One old bird was sitting on 

 the nest, whilst the other dived for food, which she brought at intervals 

 of about two minutes. When she approached the nest the young birds 

 put their heads out from under the parenf-'s wing and took the food the 

 other parent brought. Thp moment her provision was disposed of, she was 

 off for more, always diving from place to place. The morsel, when found, 

 required a good deal of shaking before it was fit to be given to the youno- 

 birds, and when prepared the parent dived with it in her beak, appearino- 

 again at the edge of the nest. Whilst I was watching her the bird on the 

 nest caught sight of me, carefully covered the eggs that were still un- 

 hatched, and slipped into the water. On going up to the nest I found 

 two of the young birds amongst the rushes on the margin of the j)ond. 

 I retired, and after watching a few minutes, saw the old bird suddenly 

 appear at the side of the ne'st, after diving several times underneath it 

 and swimming once or twice round it. After fully two minutes of this 

 manoeuvring it landed on the nest and proceeded most carefully to 

 remove the covering from the eggs and arrange it round the sides of the 

 nest ; then sitting upright for a moment and shaking out her feathers 

 she settled her breast upon the eggs. The other parent then came swim- 

 ming up, and by its puffy appearance 1 think it had the vounosters 

 under its wings. Seeing that all was going on well it probably deposited 

 them on the nest, and then paddled gently off. An hour afterwards I found 

 it very busy collecting weed to add to the nest ; it made several 

 journeys for the purpose, diving for the weed it used. After a time it 

 brought some food, but finding the young ones would not take it, though 

 it tried all round the nest, it ate it itself. On the next day buth 



