BIRDS. 175 



Severn near Wroxeter, many years ago, and another close 

 to Shrewsbury, in March, 1888. 



Slavonian or Horned Grebe. The head of this bird is, in 



P. auritus. summer, ornamented by a long flat 



Oct. Mar. tuft of chestnut coloured feathers on 



each cheek, but these are absent in 



winter. It has occurred in Shropshire several times in 



winter, the most recent being at Montford Bridge in 



1894. One was killed by a boy with a stone in the 



Quarry, Shrewsbury, in Dec., 1890, and another shot on 



the Isle pool, Feb. 5th, in the same year. 



Eared Grebe. In summer this Grebe has the head and neck black, 

 P. nigricollis. with a red patch on the ear coverts. Two were 



killed on Hanmer Pool in 1864, just outside 

 our County boundary. 



DABCHICK, or little Grebe B. An interesting and shy 

 P. fluviatilis. little bird, common on most of our pools, 



where it nests regularly. Like those of 

 the other Grebes its nest is a mass of old rushes and leaves 

 in the the water almost submerged. The eggs are white 

 at first but soon become stained by the wet matter of the 

 nest. When alarmed the Dabchick, after hastily covering 

 its eggs with dead leaves, dives silently, and travels under 

 water a long distance before rising again ; even then 

 showing little but the head above the surface. Its numbers 

 are increased by fresh arrivals in winter. The Dabchick 

 " does not swim like a Moor-hen, with a jerking movement, 

 but steadily for a short distance and then suddenly dis- 

 appears, making no splash or noise but slipping into the 

 water as if its body was lubricated. It is diving for its 

 food, which consists of water insects, molluscs, and small 



