HOLBCELL'S GREBE 11 



together with a mass of algae and water mosses; it was lined with 

 well-rotted flags. 



Throughout the greater portion of its breeding range the Hol- 

 boell's grebe is a widely scattered, solitary species. It breeds to some 

 extent in the sloughs and marshes of the northern plains and prairie 

 regions, but is more universally common in the marshy lakes and 

 ponds in the timbered regions of northern Canada, where one or two 

 pairs only are usually found in each of the smaller lakes. 



Dr. Joseph Grinnell (1900) found this grebe breeding quite com- 

 monly in the delta of the Kowak River, Alaska, in June, 1899, where 

 nearly every pond or lake was the home of a single pair. He de- 

 scribes what might be considered its courtship performance as fol- 

 lows: 



We had just moored our steamer to the river bank and I was pushing my 

 way among the willows back toward a strip of spruces when I was startled 

 by a series of most lugubrious cries from directly in front of us. 



After a moment's hesitation I concluded it must be some species of loon, 

 although I had never heard such a note before. Advancing as quietly as possi- 

 ble I came upon a small lake which was almost surrounded by spruces and 

 margined on my side with willows. I could see nothing on the surface for 

 some minutes. A loon would surely have shown himself during that time. 

 Suddenly the curious cries broke forth again, and there within 20 yards of me, 

 in a thin patch of grass growing near the shore, were two grebes resting on 

 the water. They both took part in the "song," though the voice of one was 

 notably weaker than that of the other. One of the birds would start with a 

 long wail and then the other would chime in with a similar note, both winding 

 up with a series of quavering cries very much like the repeated whinnies of a 

 horse. During these vocal demonstrations the neck would be thrown forward 

 and the head and bill tilted upward at an angle of 45. During the performance 

 the birds were nearly facing each other, but at the conclusion one, presumably 

 the male, would slowly swim around the other. A slight movement on my part 

 spoiled this interesting scene, for both birds instantly disappeared beneath the 

 water, leaving scarcely a ripple. Finally I barely discerned the head and neck 

 of one near a snag in the dark reflection of the opposite shore. 



He says of its nest: 



The nest consisted of a floating mass of sodden marsh grass, a foot in diam- 

 eter. It was anchored among standing grass in about 2 feet of water. It was 

 20 feet from the shore on one side and about the same distance from the edge 

 of the ice, which still existed in a large floe in the center of the lake. The top 

 of this raft of dead grass presented a saucer-shaped depression, which was 2 

 inches above the surface of the surrounding water. The eggs lay wholly un- 

 covered and could be plainly seen from shore. 



Mr. P. M. Silloway (1902) found a small colony of Holboell's 

 grebes in Swan Lake, Montana, where he located five pairs of the 

 birds and collected seven sets of eggs on dates ranging from June 4 

 to 20, 1902. The nests were located in an extensive growth of buck 

 brush and reeds which lined the margin of the lake and covered a 

 marshy area of about a square mile. Most of the nests were placed 



