LITTLE GREBE. 425 



breadth. When first laid they are perfectly white, but 

 soon become stained with greenish-yellow and brown, from 

 being in contact with decaying vegetable matter, and the 

 soil from the feet of the bird ; by hatching-time they are 

 frequently of a dirty clay-brown. The female is very 

 careful of her eggs, and seldom leaves them without cover- 

 ing them over with some of the vegetable substances by 

 which she is surrounded, and I quite agree with Mr. 

 Selby, that the object in thus covering the eggs is conceal- 

 ment, and not for the purpose of preserving temperature 

 during incubation. The young when first hatched are 

 dark brown on the head, neck, and upper surface, streaked 

 longitudinally with light yellowish-brown on the neck and 

 back, the under surface of the body silvery white. They 

 take to the water very soon, swimming about with the 

 parents in pursuit of aquatic insects and other food ; or 

 diving to avoid danger, with all the apparent facility and 

 confidence that usually attend long practice. 



The Little Grebe is common and resident in Ireland, 

 and too universally distributed in localities suited to its 

 habits in England, to render particular enumeration neces- 

 sary. In Scotland this small species is not considered to be 

 so plentiful as with us in the south. Mr. Selby mentions 

 that it was met with occasionally upon the smaller lochs 

 of Sutherlandshire during the natural -history excursion 

 through that county in the summer of 1834. It is found 

 also in Orkney and in Shetland. 



M. Nilsson considers the Little Grebe to be rather rare 

 in Sweden ; it is found in some other parts of the north of 

 Europe, and in Germany, but it is not common, M. Tem- 

 minck says, either in Holland or France. It is said by 

 M. Schinz to be abundant on the ponds and lakes of Swit- 

 zerland all the year ; it is found also in Provence and in 

 Italy ; at Corfu, Sicily, and Malta. 



