THE LITTLE GREBE 



movements on the land are much more graceful. It 

 seldom flies far, although able enough to make a prolonged 

 journey in the air. Its note is a shrill ueet. If alarmed 

 its usual method of escape is to dive with the quickness of 

 a flash, rising again many yards away, and diving again and 

 again if pursued. Most of its food is obtained from the 

 water, and consists of tiny fish, tadpoles, insects, molluscs, 

 and the tender shoots and buds of plants. I have often 

 remarked that Little Grebes in the remoter suburban 

 areas are very much more wary than those individuals 

 frequenting the parks. In some cases at least this bird 

 gathers into flocks for the winter, but in summer it is a 

 solitary species, each pair keeping to a particular haunt 

 and resenting intrusion. The breeding season com- 

 mences in March, and, as several broods are reared, is 

 usually prolonged into July or August. The nest, more 

 or less floating, and built up from the bottom of the water, 

 is concealed amongst reeds and rushes, but sometimes 

 rests on the marshy ground of the banks, hidden by 

 overhanging brambles and other vegetation. It is a 

 heaped-up mass of rotten vegetation of many kinds, 

 trodden and matted together, with a small cavity at the 

 top rather more neatly finished. The four to six eggs 

 are lustreless white, and soon become stained by the wet 

 nest and feet of the parents. The old bird covers them 

 with marvellous celerity when disturbed, and before 

 leaving them. The chicks take to the water at once, and 

 are often carried under the parent's wings as she dives 

 with them to a place of safety. 



The adult male Little Grebe in breeding plumage has 

 the general colour of the upper parts brownish black ; 

 the wings are brown, the secondaries marked with white ; 

 the chin, upper throat, and space below the eye are 

 black ; the lower throat, the cheeks, and the front of the 

 neck are chestnut, the remaining under parts brownish 

 black, except the under surface of the wing, which is 



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