COLYMBID^E. 531 



frequently met with in these parts, it is the " Dusky 

 Grebe" of Bewick. 



The eggs when fresh laid are said to be of a 

 bluish white.* 



LITTLE GKEBE or DABCHICK, Podiceps minor. 

 The little Dabchick is a much more common bird 

 in our county than either of the Grebes before men- 

 tioned : it remains with us all the year, and may be 

 found in most of our ponds and pools and in many 

 of the rhines in the marsh. In my pond I have only 

 seen it once, and that was in September, 1865 : it 

 had been a very dry summer, and water was running 

 unusually scarce throughout the county, so I sup- 

 pose his native pool had been dried up and the poor 

 little Dabchick driven to seek food and water some- 

 where else : it seemed very tame and quite at home 

 during its stay, which was not long : the Moorhens, 

 I think, drove it away at least they seldom left it 

 long at peace. 



Yarrell says of this bird that its powers of flight 

 appear to be limited ; but it must occasionally make 

 tolerably long flights; for instance, the one that 

 came to my pond must have flown at least a mile, 

 as there is no place within that distance from 

 which it could possibly have come: it could not 

 have made its way by water, and no Grebe 

 would ever dream of walking a mile under any 



* Yarrell, vol. iii., p. 416. 



