2 LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN DIVING BIRDS 



sharply outlined against the green background, the glossy black 

 crown, the fiery red eyes, and the javelin-like beak. Who could help 

 admiring such a picture of aquatic grace, such specialized mastery of 

 its native element? Its delicately poised head was ever alert, its 

 keen red eyes were watching every motion and, as I moved one step 

 nearer, the graceful neck was arched, the javelin beak plunged down- 

 ward, and the slim body followed in a curve below the surface, 

 leaving scarcely any wake behind it. The water was clear and I was 

 near enough to follow its course as it sped away beneath the surface 

 a long slender pointed craft, propelled by two powerful paddles and 

 with wings tightly closed. The western grebe is certainly a water 

 nymph of the first class, built for speed and action, the most highly 

 specialized of all our diving birds. 



Courtship. The western grebes reach their breeding grounds in 

 the inland lakes during May, early in the month in North Dakota, 

 about May 8 to 12 in southern Canada, and before the end of the 

 month farther north. I have never witnessed their nuptial perform- 

 ances, but Mr. William L. Finley has sent me the following notes 

 on the subject: 



The first action, which I have often noticed during the nesting season of the 

 grebe, is when the two birds swim side by side. They throw the head and 

 neck back which gives one the impression at a distance that the birds are 

 preening their plumage. When I saw the action near at hand, I noticed that 

 each bird arched its neck continually, the bill turned straight down and the 

 black crest spread. At the same time, both birds curved and swayed their 

 necks back in a rythmical manner, touching them against their bodies. It was 

 like a backward bow. 



A second performance, the water glide of the grebe, was not as common 

 as the antics just mentioned. However, it seemed to be a climax to the per- 

 formance above. As the two birds swam side by side both suddenly stood 

 upright as if walking on the top of the water and rushed along, splashing 

 the surface for 20 or 30 feet, with wings tight to the body. Then they dropped 

 to their breasts in a graceful glide that carried them along for about 15 

 feet farther. 



The third performance might well be termed purely a wedding dance. I 

 saw it three times within close range, and each time it was exactly the same. 

 As two birds were swimming together, both dove. They rose to the top of 

 the water a few moments later, each holding a piece of moss or weed in 

 the bill. Instantly they faced each other and rose, treading water, with 

 bodies half above the surface and necks stretched straight up. They treaded 

 around, breast to breast, until they made three or four circles, and then 

 dropped down to a normal attitude, at the same time flirting the moss out 

 of their mouths and swimming off in an unconcerned manner. 



The first two performances are typical mating or courting antics, while 

 the last is the most significant wedding dance I have ever seen in bird life. 



Nesting. The Crane Lake colony, referred to above, was a typical, 

 large colony of the plains or prairie region. I visited this colony 

 two years in succession and made several trips into the slough each 



