GREAT CRESTED GREBE. 241 



places for the young birds. No such resting-places 

 could possibly be required by the old birds, whose 

 natural element is the water, and under whose weight 

 they would be completely submerged, but in rough 

 weather they would doubtless be of the greatest service 

 to the tender little ones, or even in fine weather afford 

 them the means of sunning themselves or of drying 

 their scanty plumage. 



Much has been said as to the effectual way in which 

 the old bird covers her eggs on leaving the nest, but, 

 although I have examined over a period of many years 

 a large number of nests, I never saw one so completely 

 covered that the eggs were entirely hidden. In the 

 scanty use of hiding material this species is a decided 

 contrast to the little grebe, which covers her nest so 

 effectually that it has all the appearance of a casual 

 heap of dead vegetable matter.* 



Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun. (" Zoologist," 1885, p. 436), 

 states that on the 15th June, having climbed into a tree, 

 by the use of binoculars he saw a loon quit her nest 

 without covering the eggs, but on the 25th he saw the 

 same bird perform the act of covering them before 

 leaving the nest, and describes the action as almost 

 momentary, " a couple of tugs with the beak and that 

 was all." Mr. Gurney opposes Mr. Seebohm's opinion 

 that the eggs are covered to protect them against cold ; 

 in this I quite agree with him, as I have repeatedly seen 

 a single freshly laid egg (very conspicuous in its white- 

 ness), which there would be no need to protect against 

 cold, covered as carefully, or perhaps I should say as 

 slightly, as a full clutch in the last stage of incubation. 

 If part of the eggs are taken the old bird will lay others 

 to supply the deficiency, but I am informed that if all 

 are removed they make a fresh nest not far distant from 

 the old one, though of this I cannot speak from personal 

 observation. 



The number of eggs is generally three, occasionally 

 four, and rarely five. I have only seen five on one 



* I may state that my observations of this bird have been con- 

 fined to the county of Norfolk and part of Suffolk, but I imagine 

 their habits in other localities do not differ greatly from those of 

 the birds found in this county. 



2 H 



