140 THE FOWLER IN IRELAND. 



of some little bullrush-protected recess in the lake 

 or pool chosen. It is most difficult to discover the 

 nest, for the bird can never be seen on it. The 

 Grebe slides off her eggs like an eel, or as an otter 

 takes to the water, leaving neither bubble nor ripple 

 behind. It also covers the eggs with aquatic weeds, 

 so that looking down on it from the bow of a boat 

 no uninitiated eye could detect any eggs, or see 

 more than a piece of drifted wreck-weed. The 

 young are marked with sooty spots and covered 

 with down, their necks curiously striped. The old 

 bird brings them their food, consisting of tiny fry 

 and tadpoles. When the young Grebes begin to 

 catch fish for themselves, they may be found floating 

 dead in the reeds, choked by trying to swallow 

 roach too large for the. gullet. 



I have seen from twelve to fifteen Great Crested 

 Grebes together on the large Swiss lakes. This 

 was a novel sight to one accustomed to see them 

 solitary, or at most in pairs. The shooters there 

 follow one Grebe at a time, singling it out from the 

 rest, and eventually hunt it down when exhausted. 

 They calculate on at least a half-hour's work ere 

 procuring one. On the bird rising they instantly 

 fire, so forcing the bird to dive, though, perhaps, 

 far out of reasonable range, maintaining that the 

 less the bird is allowed to remain above water to 

 breathe the sooner does it give in. 



It may be noted that Grebes shot during winter, 

 excepting the Eared Grebe and the Little Dipper or 

 Dabchick, are grey and colourless. Looking at an 

 adult male Great Crested or a Sclavonian Grebe, 

 in summer plumage, you will scarcely recognize 



