8 



Audubon says that he kept two Pied-billed Grebes in a large 

 tub, and that they swam like puffins, using their feet and 

 wings "in accordance/' and staying a long time under water. 1 



Reed writes as follows regarding the Pied-billed Grebe : 



In my bpyhood I frequently cornered these birds in a creek or small 

 cove, so that in order to escape it was necessary for them to swim under 

 the boat. At these times we could plainly see their mode of progression. 

 They flapped their wings in much the same way as in flying, and this in 

 addition to their feet is what gives them their great speed. On one of 

 these occasions, as the Grebe was going under the boat, my companion 

 in his excitement leaped overboard, clothes and all. By some accident 

 he happened to catch the bird by the neck. 2 



In American ornithological literature there is very little evi- 

 dence of this habit among grebes, but fortunately unpublished 

 observations are not lacking. Dr. A. K. Fisher, in charge of 

 economic investigations in the Biological Survey, Washington, 

 District of Columbia, says that he has seen grebes flying under 

 water with the wings fairly well extended, but he does not 

 mention the species. Mr. William L. Finley, Jennings Lodge, 

 Oregon, says that in 1905 at Lower Klamath Lake he saw young 

 Western Grebes swimming under water, using both feet and 

 wings, the wings in quick strokes. Mr. Wright M. Pierce, 

 Claremont, California, writes me that he saw an Eared Grebe 

 swimming in the water under thin ice. The wings were half 

 spread. He believed that the foot-strokes alternated with those 

 of the wings. The bird moved faster when using both wings 

 and feet. Mr. J. K. Jensen, Santa Fe, New Mexico, saw in 

 February, 1918, an Eared Grebe swimming at Arroyo Hondo. 

 The wings, he says, were about half spread and worked with 

 quick strokes. The feet were used simultaneously with the 

 wings. Both feet were used together. When the wings were 

 raised, the feet were drawn up; and when the wings were 

 brought close to the body, the feet struck out behind. Both 

 wings and feet were employed all the time that he w r atched 

 the bird. He sketched two swimming attitudes of the bird (see 

 cut), showing the extreme positions of the wings and feet under 



1 Audubon, J. J.: Ornithological Biography, Vol. Ill, 1835, p. 361. 



2 Reed, Chester A.: American Ornithology, Vol. 1, No. 8, August, 1901, p. 149. 



