134 BIRD BIOGRAPHIES 



amongst the young reeds, other material 

 was collected from the surface of the 

 lake, and while the hen was putting the 

 nest into shape, her mate would swim 

 a hundred yards or more and come back 

 with a small piece of weed in his beak ; 

 then handing this to her and she took 

 it as if she thought he had gone through 

 a vast amount of labour for such a small 

 item he turned round and went off in 

 search of more. With such energy did 

 the birds work, that in less than two 

 days quite a good nest had been made. 

 The following morning this contained 

 one egg, and while one bird kept guard 

 near the nest, the other was a distance 

 from it, searching for food in the deeper 

 water. The Coots now seemed to take 

 very little notice of the Grebes, but 

 they were waiting their opportunity, 

 and later on in the day both Grebes left 

 their corner, no doubt thinking that the 

 egg was safe. Very soon after they 



