516 PODICIPEDIDA 
turns, snatching at insects on the surface of the water. 
All Grebes are very voracious, and will attempt to swallow 
fish so large as to become impacted in the gullet; the 
young in particular, which can catch fish at a very tender 
age, are sometimes choked in their endeavours to engulf 
too large a prey. It is usual to find feathers in the stomach 
mixed with half-digested food. 
Nest.—The Great Crested Grebe selects for its breeding- 
haunts a quiet, sheltered, and unfrequented spot in a thick 
reed-bed on an inland lake. The site 1s sometimes near 
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Fig. 62.—LEFT FOOT OF GREAT CRESTED GREBE. 35 Nat. size. 
the margin and in other cases at some distance from it, 
and always surrounded by water deep enough for the 
bird to dive into at the slightest alarm. 
The nest, composed of a compact mass of aquatic plants, 
broken sticks and leaves, moistened and usually in a state 
of decay, either floats on the surface of the water moored 
to the surrounding reeds, or in shallow places is built up 
from the bottom of the lake. It is most difficult to find, 
firstly because it 1s well concealed among the dense growth 
of reeds or sedges, and secondly because the owners seldom 
betray their presence to the intruder. It is marvellous how 
quickly and stealthily the hatching-bird can glide off, cover 
her eggs with dead leaves, and then disappear under water, 
all being the work of a second or two. Indeed, the egg- 
