404 PYGOPODES. 



" I don't think the egg, if left in the nest, ever remains white 

 more than one day at the outside. I noticed two young broods on 

 the last date, one of which was, I should say, at least a month old. 

 On being approached the parent birds disappeared under water at 

 once ; the young ones, five in number, remaining on the surface all 

 huddled together until I got quite close to them, when all of a 

 sudden they scattered and disappeared with five simultaneous 

 splashes, just as if a handful of pebbles had been thrown into the 

 water. In a few seconds they rose, collected together, dispersed 

 and disappeared again, and so on as long as I remained near. As 

 soon as I left they collected together, and the parents rejoined 

 them from the adjoining rushes." 



Messrs. Davidson and Wenden, writing of the Deccan, re- 

 mark : " Common, and breeds in the rains." 



Mr. Davison says : " The Little Grebe breeds on the Ootaca- 

 mund Lake in May and the earlier part of June in large numbers. 

 The nest is either placed in the centre of a small clump of rushes, 

 or attached to the outside ; in either case it rests upon the water. 

 When fresh, the eggs are pure white, but by the time they are 

 ready to hatch off they are very dark, sometimes nearly black. 

 This is owing to the habit the bird has of covering the eggs with 

 wet leaves and rubbish every time it leaves the nest. It is amusing 

 to watch the bird, as it sees a boat approaching, covering the eggs, 

 and it is often not until the boat is only a few yards off that it 

 plunges off the nest. The young appear to take to the water as 

 soon as they are hatched, and often a little party of four or five 

 may be come across (deserted by both parents), roving about hither 

 and thither as if they did not know where to go or what to do, 

 keeping up all the time a low monotonous chirrup. At this young 

 age they appear to be incapable of diving ; at least I have never 

 seen them exercise this power. The normal number of eggs 

 appears to be five.' 7 



Mr. A. G-. E. Theobald remarks: "I found a nest of this 

 species on the 19th August at a lake opposite the Ahtoor station 

 of the Shevaroy Hills. The nest was a large irregular platform, 

 some 10 inches wide and nearly 2 feet long, fixed to the branches 

 of a bushy tree growing at the water's edge. When I found it, 

 the nest was nearly two feet above the water-level, but when con- 

 structed it may have been much nearer, as the lake had been 

 recently a good deal higher. The nest was composed of grass, 

 leaves, weed, and thin twigs, and contained five much-incubated 

 eggs, which, when I found them, were completely covered with 

 grass and leaves." 



Mr. A. G. Cardew writes : " The colony of these birds which 

 Jerdon mentions is still in existence on the Ootacamund Lake, and 

 breeds there, making the usual large nest of weeds and rushes. I 

 have had it brought me with fresh eggs on the 30th July and early 

 in August i. e. just as the south-west monsoon terminates." 



In Ceylon the Little Grebe, according to Colonel Legge, breeds 

 during the south-west -monsoon rains. 



