164 BRITISH BIRDS. [vol. xiii. 



bird left, if startled or otherwise, no attempt was made at 

 covering the eggs, the chief reason being that there was no 

 loose material on the nest with which to do this. No doubt 

 the nest became trodden down like this through the young 

 bird climbing in and out, although it seemed almost im- 

 possible for one small youngster to make such an alteration 

 in such a short time. The second egg hatched the following 

 day, while the third fell out of the nest into the water, and 

 did not hatch. 



The first young bird to leave was taken possession of by 

 the male, and the hen looked after the other. For the next 

 twelve days they remained with their parents, often riding 

 on their backs, and taking food that was brought to them. 

 They also learned to pick up flies from the surface. From 

 July 3rd to the 8th, the weather became cold and stormy, 

 and all four birds remained in the reeds, but with an improve- 

 ment taking place they came out, and at this time the young 

 were very capable divers, going down and bringing up food 

 for themselves, although each parent still had charge of one 

 baby. They were a contrast to the young of the Great 

 Crested Grebe of the same age, as the latter are fed almost 

 entirely by the parents until the fourth week. 



At this period I had to give up systematic watching, and 

 only saw the birds occasionall}', as my work kept me fully 

 employed, in fact all through the nesting season I was not 

 able to give all the time I should have liked to these birds, 

 but I have endeavoured to give some account of their nesting 

 habits. In conclusion I want to appeal as strongly as 

 possible to egg-collectcrs to give these beautiful and interest- 

 ing birds a chance. If left alone they will increase, but if 

 harassed by having their eggs taken, they will very soon 

 be driven away to haunts farther afield. 



