180 OUT WITH THE BIRDS 



and there, dangling from a tree in the farmyard, 

 I found the victim a young Swainson hawk! 

 Enough said. 



Aug. 8. Early in the morning, set out with 

 some friends in a row-boat, on a fishing expedi- 

 tion, bound for the creek-mouth across the lake. 

 As we approached the opposite shore, the marsh 

 terns became very numerous. Many of the 

 young ones were roosting on the rafts of pond- 

 weed, now lying at the surface of the water, in 

 brown patches. The black marsh tern was the 

 common species met, but several families of the 

 white species most probably the common, but 

 perhaps the Forster also were noted. The 

 white fellows have a way of their own of drop- 

 ping flat on the water, with perpendicular beak 

 driven down to pin a minnow or water-insect. 



Close to shore two horned grebes seemed some- 

 what disturbed at our appearance, and the cause 

 of it was revealed when we saw a tiny peeper 

 grebe climb up on the back of each of the par- 

 ents. Suddenly one of the old birds dived, and 

 the little fellow was left on the surface. But 

 only for a moment, when he swam to the other, 

 probably his mother, and climbed aboard beside 

 his brother navigator. A short distance ahead, 



