78 MEMOIRS OF THE NUTTALL ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 



The canny gunner waits till the bird dives, then runs down perhaps by two or 

 three stages to the water's edge, and if he is so fortunate as to see the bird 

 before it sees him, and to fire just as it emerges from the water, the deed is 

 done. The same tactics followed by the bird-watcher, who remains motionless 

 and prone when the bird is above water, will often allow of a close approach. 



The diving of this Grebe is often a beautiful piece of work. The bird 

 springs vigorously upward and forward, the bill cleaves the water on the down- 

 ward curve just as the feet leave it, while the whole body describes an arc. The 

 wings are closely applied to the sides, and do not flop out as in the Alcidce, where 

 they are used for flight under water. In the Grebes the feet are the propelling 

 power in the forceful initial spring, and in the movements below the water. 

 That the wings are kept close to the sides under water I have been able to 

 observe when the Grebes were borne up in the advancing rollers on Ipswich 

 Beach. The clear water before the waves broke revealed the diving birds. The 

 full beginning of the dive, as described above, is often curtailed in all degrees, so 

 that the head is below water before the feet emerge, or the jump is lost entirely, 

 and the bird disappears suddenly with a vigorous kick, or mysteriously and 

 quietly sinks in the water. The duration under water depends somewhat on its 

 depth as well as on the abundance of food there. Thus a Grebe close to the 

 rocks stayed under from 30 to 35 seconds, while the same bird a short distance 

 out was under water from 45 to 50 seconds each time. They often remain 

 below the surface longer than this. 



Grebes ride buoyantly on the surface, looking about inquisitively, occasion- 

 ally peering into the water, and frequently shaking the head nervously from side 

 to side. A foot is sometimes raised over the back in a comical manner, or they 

 turn partly over to preen themselves. 



One may sometimes find a Grebe asleep with bill and half his head thrust 

 down into the feathers of the breast. I have seen a bird thus asleep heading up 

 into the wind and keeping in the same place by the alternate paddling of the 

 legs, the shining, silky breast showing conspicuously. At first sight it looked 

 like a buoy partly coated with ice, with a black knob, the head, on top. The fact 

 that it was stationary on the waves added to the illusion. A loud whistle served 

 to make the bird extract its head from the feathers and look about. 



Horned Grebes, like the other members of the family, are very rarely seen 

 flying, preferring to escape by diving and swimming off. It is very difficult for 

 them to get under way in flight, and they patter along the water for some dis- 

 tance, running as it were, on the waves, using the feet alternately. 



Besides grass and other vegetable matter, beetles, and small crustaceans, I 

 have found numerous feathers in these birds' stomachs. The feathers were 

 apparently plucked from their own breasts. 



