PIED-BILLED GREBE 43 



and began beating upon the water with its wings. Such behavior bespoke 

 something very unusual happening in the near-by nest. I looked just in time 

 to see the last of the striped young scramble from it and disappear beneath 

 the water. Then ensued a series of maneuvers on the part of the bird which 

 were evidently intended to distract my attention. The customary silence, ease, 

 and grace of diving were entirely abandoned. Each appearance above the 

 water was announced by a shake of the body, followed by a beating of the 

 wings on the surface, and a flip of the feet as it again dove, which sometimes 

 sprayed water for more than a yard. This performance took place within 10 

 or 15 feet of me, and sometimes the bird swam in even closer. At such times 

 it rested rather high on the water, holding its tail, if we may speak of it as 

 such, erect, and nervously flashing the light areas on the flanks, as do the galli- 

 nules. 



Meanwhile the young birds had made their way toward the center of the 

 pond. The largest could not have been more than a few days old, and yet, 

 when I tried to catch them, they showed all the ingenuity of the old birds, 

 diving, doubling, swimming with just the bill showing, or lying concealed in 

 a bunch of water weeds, with only the nostrils above the surface. Had the 

 water been less clear I probably should have been unable to catch any of them; 

 but, as it was, I could follow them as they escaped in various directions. They 

 were even conspicuous when attempting to hide. I was reminded of the old 

 story of the ostrich which buried its head in the sand to escape detection; for, 

 in spite of the fact that only the bill was exposed above the water, the entire 

 body was nearly as conspicuous as though floating on the surface. In diving, 

 as in floating, the wings of the young projected nearly at right angles from 

 their bodies, even more so than in other precocial birds. 



The largest of the young had already reached the open water beyond my 

 depth, and when I returned to the shore the old grebe swam toward it, chang- 

 ing her alarm note of keck, keck to a softer cup, cup, as though calling to it. 

 Swimming beyond it, she turned her tail toward it and slightly raised her 

 wings. This was the signal for the young one to crawl upon her back, which 

 it repeatedly attempted to do until its mother, disgusted with such clumsiness, 

 clapped her wing on its neck and started off at a great rate for the other end 

 of the pond. When far enough away she checked her speed and gave it an- 

 other chance. Then with her wobbly passenger she continued to the end of 

 the pond, where she was joined by her mate. Here they sported about for 

 some time, the young bird plunging from the back of one and swimming across 

 to the other, all seemingly forgetful of the rest of the family. Finally they 

 disappeared into the rushes, and I continued my course around the pond. 



Plumages. The downy young is prettily and quite strikingly 

 marked with black and white; it is mainly glossy black above, with 

 longitudinal stripes of grayish white on the neck and back; the 

 crown is black, more or less variegated with " walnut brown" or 

 "burnt umber," sometimes in the form of a central patch, and with 

 two broad superciliary stripes of white meeting on the forehead and 

 two white stripes above them; the sides of the neck and throat are 

 variegated with black and white and the sides of the body are more 

 or less washed with dusky; the under parts are grayish white, light- 

 est on the belly. The bird is fully half grown before the real plum- 

 age appears, which shows first on the breast and then in the wings; 

 it is nearly full-grown before the down entirely disappears. The 



