during the entire period of incubation I am perfectly convinced, as on the three 

 different occasions on which I watched her for several hours, she never once 

 departed from this course of action. 



There used to be a very well known Little Grebe in the ' narrows ' at 

 Loch Ard, in Perthshire, which violated all the customs of its predecessors. 

 Its nest was a lofty pile of black-looking and very rotten weeds, founded on the 

 submerged branch of a small alder-bush growing out of the bank, without 

 the faintest vestige of cover anywhere near, and very conspicuous in fact, almost 

 a landmark. On the top of this imposing structure the little bird sat in state 

 upon its eggs, and allowed passing boats to come quite close to it without 

 paying the slightest attention ; if driven off the nest she quickly dived into 

 the water without attempting to cover her eggs, and reappeared a few feet 

 from the nest, close to the bank, where she hung about till the boat moved 

 on. In the beginning of May 1894 some ruthless person took away her whole 

 nestful of eggs at one fell swoop, but I observed her in the beginning of July 

 sitting upon three eggs in the same nest. 



This is rather a curious fact, as the Little Grebe is always most particular 

 about covering her eggs before leaving the nest, and generally dives quietly 

 away from it, hardly leaving a tell-tale ripple, hiding herself in the nearest 

 cover till danger is past. 



The number of eggs laid varies from three to six, but five is by far the 

 most common clutch. They are pale cream colour almost white when first laid, 

 but they very soon become a dirty rust colour with the constant wet of the 

 decaying reeds and the birds' feet. They vary from 1*5 to 1/2 inch in length, 

 and from i'i to 1*9 inch in breadth, and are always much smaller than the 

 eggs of any other British-breeding Grebe. They are rather a curious shape, 

 and have a distinct point at both ends of the egg. Incubation lasts from 

 eighteen to twenty days, the birds frequently leaving the nest during the hottest 

 part of the day, when no doubt the heat of the sun and the fermentation of the 

 decaying reeds are quite sufficient to keep the eggs warm ; in this case the 

 eggs are not covered. 



Young in down are almost black on the upper parts, including the head 

 and neck upwards from the breast, striped longways with rich chestnut, and 

 have a white V on the throat, and white under-parts. As soon as the young 

 are hatched they can swim quite well, and can thoroughly take care of them- 

 selves at the end of a week, when they can dive quite a long distance. The 

 old bird is very attentive to them, and if danger threatens them she will dive 

 away with them, raising her wings and allowing them to creep under. 



94 



