132 BIRD BIOGRAPHIES 



were laid flat on the water, their wings 

 were raised in the form of a shield over 

 their backs, and they advanced one 

 towards the other. When they met, 

 their necks were lifted and each gave the 

 other a few harmless pecks, and each 

 retreated. Once again they advanced 

 and the same thing happened, and for 

 ten or fifteen minutes this rather weak 

 battle continued. The hen bird, which 

 was the third bird which appeared, took 

 very little notice of the fighters, and it 

 was principally this fact which caused 

 the two male Grebes to fight in such 

 a tame manner. However, before it 

 was too dark for me to observe their 

 movements they went for each other in 

 a really desperate manner, and I saw 

 the still surface of the lake turned into 

 large ripples, and the fighters were 

 dashing one at the other in real earnest. 

 How the battle ended I could not very 

 well see, but I did notice that the 



