ORNITHOLOGIST 



— AND — 



OOLOGIST. 



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 AQDum. 



Joseph M. Wade, Editor and Publisher, 

 Established, March, 1875. 



Single Copy 

 10 Cents. 



VOL. VIII. 



BOSTON, JANUARY, 1883. 



No. I. 



Breeding Habits of the Carolina and 

 American Eared Grebes. 



Podilymbus podiceps and Dytes nigricollis Califurnicus. 



For several years I have given some at- 

 tention to the Grebes, and am satisfied 

 that the eggs of the smaller species are 

 often confounded. Have carefully exam- 

 ined more than a hundred nests of the 

 Carolina, and a large number of the Eared, 

 but know nothing of the Horned, having 

 never seen a nest, and offer these notes 

 for publication hoping they will draw out 

 some further information, and that some 

 competent person will give us in the O. 

 and O. a full description of the nest of the 

 Horned Grebe. The eggs of all three are 

 very similar, but I think the nests, when 

 well understood, will afford a certain 

 means of identification. It certainl}^ will 

 of the two species under consideration. 

 The Carolina breed plentifully in Wis., 

 and at least as far west as middle Dakota. 

 I have only found the Eared breeding in 

 Dakota, but learn from good authority that 

 they are common in Minn., but have never 

 heard of their breeding east of the Mis- 

 sissipj^i river. Do not think the Horned 

 Grebe breeds in any part of this region. 

 The most remarkable thing about the Car- 

 olina is their shyness in the breeding sea- 

 son. Weeks may be spent in their haunts 

 without seeing a single one, and they are 

 often quite common where their presence 

 is not suspected. Was among them in 

 Dakota five weeks ; found numerous nests 

 and do not remember to have seen a single 

 bird, except when caught in traps set on 

 nests. This applies only to the breeding 



season ; at other ^mes they are tame 

 enough, and can be seen anywhere. It is 

 doubtless this featiu-e, more than anything 

 else, that has confused collectors. On 

 many of the small lakes the Eared Grebes 

 are seen in pairs, or small flocks, and on 

 searching in the adjoining weeds and 

 rushes Grebe's nests are found which it is 

 natural to suppose belong to the birds 

 seen, and to make the confusion worse, the 

 Eared is sometimes taken for the Horned, 

 and the eggs marked accordingly. So it 

 may happen that the eggs of the Carolina 

 Grebe are marked Eared, or Horned, as 

 the collector calls the birds seen. 



I will try to describe the nest of each 

 species minutely enough to enable anybody 

 to identify them on sight. The Carolina, 

 or thick billed Grebe, breeds in lakes and 

 sloughs, among thick rushes, reeds or 

 grass where the water is two or three feet 

 deep. The old decaying rushes or reeds 

 are pulled together by the bird, and con- 

 tinually piled upon each other till the fab- 

 ric rises above the water. On this the 

 nest is built, made of moss and debris 

 brought up from the bottom. The struc- 

 ture is large imder water, often as large as 

 a bushel basket. It generally floats, but 

 sometimes reaches the bottom. Above 

 water the nest is small, just large enough 

 to hold the eggs, and is almost always wet. 

 The eggs, six to nine in number, are clear, 

 bluish-white at first, but soon become 

 stained by contact with the wet nest. 

 They are always covered in the absence of 

 the bird. It is surprising how quick and 

 effectually they will do this and get away 

 without being seen. The nest when filled 



