GEE AT CEESTED GEEBE 517 



collector, viewing a great area of a sedge-grown lake perhaps 

 several acres in extent, becomes bewildered in his endeavours 

 to discover where the prize really lies. The eggs, laid in May, 

 June, or even early in July, are from four to live in number, 

 white in colour, elongated in shape, pointed at either end, 

 and of a chalky texture. As incubation proceeds and they 

 lie in contact with the rotting materials which line the nest 

 they become discoloured, deepening from yellow to brown. 

 The lining-membrane of the shell is bright green. Great 

 care is taken of the } 7 oung and the latter sleep on their 

 parents' backs for some days after they are hatched. A male 

 has been observed to carry a chick on his back for ten days 

 while the female dived and brought food (Ussher). An 

 instance is recorded of a Grebe, which when shot flying, 

 dropped two of its offspring on the water (Sir E. Payne- 

 Gallwey). Professor Newton describes how the young if 

 taken from the nest and placed on dry ground, move along 

 almost like quadrupeds, using their wings like fore-feet 

 ('Ibis,' 1889, p. 577). 



In the nesting-season the Great Crested Grebe loses 

 much of its shyness, and its habits may be 1 watched with 

 little difficulty. " A pair will approach each other with their 

 necks held up and crests erected, all the while uttering 

 their croak. Having met, they remain in that attitude, 

 with the points of their bills touching each other. After 

 some moments they lower their heads simultaneously until 

 their bills touch their breasts, and then they renew the 

 manoeuvre, setting to one another like partners in a quad- 

 rille ; or one dives and the other follows it. At other times 

 they swim or rest on the water side by side (Mr. Kane 

 in Field, March 4th, 1893)." (Ussher, 'Birds of Ireland,' 

 p. 377.) 



This species breeds extensively in suitable localities in 

 Great Britain and Ireland. In the latter country, which 

 is much interspersed with sheltered lakes, the bird is widely 

 distributed. Indeed its absence from the more remote 

 districts of the West of Ireland is due largely to the bleak 

 nature of the surrounding country, the paucity of aquatic 

 vegetation which affords shelter, and the prevalence of 

 westerly gales which cause waves of no small magnitude 

 to rise on these waters. 



Geographical distribution. Abroad, this Grebe is widely 

 distributed as a breeding-species. It is found in many 

 countries of Temperate Europe, reaching northward as far 



