R84 THE HOLBOELL GREBE, ; 
Buffleheads, Mergansers, and Scoters, but he is just a trifle more careless 
than the rest, for if the gun speaks he can always dive. 
The adult bird customarily prepares for diving by first giving a little up- 
ward spring and then turning suddenly with the body almost clear of the water 
to shoot down head foremost. It is, however, quite as able as others of the 
family to flash out of sight without the spring-board motion, or else to fade 
away after the manner of the polite Frenchman. Once, upon a piece of inland 
water I sighted one of these birds at not over thirty yards. Really desirous 
of securing a specimen for the cabinet, I shot, using duck-shot and an extra 
rapid smokeless powder. The fellow was possessed—not only by “spirits,” 
but by an inexhaustible fund of good nature, for each time I shot he 
vanished, | know not how, only to reappear instantly, unscathed and smiling, 
to paddle a little nearer. 
Like its cousin, the Western Grebe, Holboell’s is abundant upon Puget 
Sound in winter, but it is also more commonly found upon the larger lakes, 
weather permitting. It is even more prevalent during migrations, and while 
not nearly so gregarious as the other species, birds are often of a mind 
regarding the desirability of certain stretches of water. Thus, on the toth 
of April, 1906, I encountered a scattered flock of over a thousand individuals 
in the channel off Port Townsend. 
Compared with the preceding species these birds are shorter and stouter 
as to bill and neck, and they do not present so fierce an appearance, altho still 
boasting the carmine eye. The neck, also, is never of so pure a white in 
front, and it usually retains a dull rufous wash which further serves for 
distinction. 
The nesting range of the Holboell Grebe lies chiefly north of Washington. 
I have found it nesting only in Lake Chelan and in a small body of water 
adjacent thereto, Owing to the furtive habits of the various swamp-dwellers, 
it is often difficult to distinguish notes, but I have attributed a harshly raucous 
cawack, awwack caawwrrack heard in June upon the Pend d’Oreille River 
to this species. It is generally similar to the yark of the Horned Grebe but 
has several times the volume. 
Like all others of the group, the young of the Holboell Grebe tumble 
out of the shell into the water, and the saturated mass of decayed vegetation, 
which for a time held the egg, is never known as home. When the brood 
is hatched the young birds clamber upon the mother’s back and have a ride 
quite to their liking. Nothing more convenient than this floating palace 
could be devised; besides being a raft and a diving bell(e), it is fitted up 
with leather-stuffed cushions for repose, and upon it meals are served 
frequently, a la Grebe—since it is said the mother can twist her neck around 
without difficulty and bestow a selected morsel upon whom she will of the 
expectant brood. 
