VOL. xm.] THE BLACK-NECKED GREBE. 149 



The following day, one of the keepers and myself constructed 

 a hide on the water, about 25 feet from the nest, at which we 

 were at work i^ hours altogether, and the bird returned to her 

 nest very soon after we left. It was not my intention to 

 attempt any photography for another week. On May 24th I 

 noticed both birds on the reservoir, so I waded out to the nest, 

 and found that it had been robbed. We thought at the time 

 that a Moorhen had taken the eggs, or a rat, as there weie signs 

 on the nest that one of these mammals had been there, but 

 when I discovered latei on that egg-collectors were watching 

 me, I am more inclined to think that one of these human egg- 

 robbers was the culprit. 



However, it was really a blessing in disguise, as the birds 

 spent another week in courting and I saw^ some very pretty 

 exercises that I would otherwise have missed . They evidently 

 decided to waste no time before building again, but the 

 difficulty was to discover where they would build, as the reeds 

 were now growing up rapidly, and becoming very dense. 

 On May 25th both birds were in quite another part of the 

 reservoir, and at intervals throughout the day they were 

 love-making. In this, the male would often swim casually 

 away from his mate for a distance of about 30 yards ; he 

 would then dive, and one could tell by the actions of the 

 female that he was coming towards her under the water ; 

 just before he appeared, she would lay her neck full length 

 on the water, and raise her wings over the back in the form 

 of a shield, and wait for him. With most unerring precision 

 he always came up about a yard in front of her, and with head 

 loweied swam rapidly to her. As they met both birds looked 

 as if they were standing directly on their tails, and with necks 

 extended, breasts and beaks almost touching, they faced 

 one another. One would now shake its head, and the other 

 immediately followed with exactly the same action. Both 

 had the head feathers erected, and for about 15 seconds 

 they remained like this, but suddenly dropping to the water, 

 they swam together rapidly side by side, and one would 

 again shake its head and the other repeated the movement ; 

 then one would preen a feather on the back, and this move- 



