THE BIRDS. 



527 



very handsome and conspicuous, and would make a capital mark for the 

 gun of the sportsman. These birds are said to be very shy, rapid 

 and expert divers, and more impatient of cold than the duck tribe 

 generally. Little is known of the 

 time or the place of its breeding. 



FIG. 1130. Little Grebe, ,th nat. size. 



FIG. 1131. Sclavoi-ian Grebe, Jth nat. > 



\Ye have always the Little Grebe, or Dabchick (Podiceps minor, 

 fig. 1130), on the water, although in limited numbers, which is curious, 

 as on another mill-head near Croydon they exist in great abun- 



FIG. 1132. Water Rail, Jih nat. size. 



FIG. 1133. Land Rail, Jth nar. size. 



dance. They dive for food, and are rather shy, so that I have 

 never been able, at my garden, to observe much of their natural 



