197 

 SEX HABITS OF THE GREAT CRESTED GREBE. 



EDMUND SELOUS. 



(Continued from page 176 J. 



Feb. 23RD. — More Grebes, to-day, on the Wilston water. 

 There were, once, some fourteen or sixteen together — I forget 

 now the exact number. But though thus in a flock, these birds, 

 I am convinced, were all paired, for they had an invincible 

 tendency gradually to fall into two here, and two there, even 

 though there might be a more or less considerable, and even, 

 sometimes, a great space between them. Of course when 

 another couple entered this intervening space, and then, 

 themselves, widened out, the paired formation was not so 

 easy to detect, and one has only to apply this to the whole 

 number to understand how successfully it might be masked. 

 Nevertheless, the fact would, ere long, reveal itself, and was 

 proved when first one, and then another of these couples 

 confronted each other, with the characteristic love -act ions, 

 or even when, without these, they kept, for a considerable 

 period, in close company. On various of the former occasions 

 I believe that the birds nebbed, and did not merely shake their 

 heads, till now, later in the day— between 2-30 and 3 — ^^I am 

 sure that a pair did so. It was just as with that pair I first 

 watched in Suffolk, and the twitchings or flirtings of the head 

 suggested nothing but supplementary actions, unessential to 

 the main one of touching the bills together. Such minor 

 movements would be of no significance, had they not been 

 gradually converted from a mere nervous trick, into the 

 principal or even, as it would seem, very often, the one feature 

 of the performance. As for the preening actions, which, 

 though mingled with it, one cannot regard as being, even now, 

 of any sexual value, not only are these, as before remarked, 

 much indulged in by numbers of birds, but this is particularly 

 the case with these Grebes. I do not know how, or to what 

 extent, they may be troubled with insect, or other, parasites, 

 but it is possible, perhaps, that this and heat of blood may go 

 some way towards accounting for their undue obtrusion, 

 without calling in less direct factors. Another aquatic bird^ 

 the Puffin — is troubled with two kinds of bugs or ticks, 

 with the poisonous bite of one of which I am personally 

 acquainted, nor can ever forget, since it produced in me 

 an entirely new sensation of pain, which lasted for a very 

 long time, afterwards, when the spot was touched. This 

 species was about the size of a large house-fly or small blue- 

 bottle, if I remember, but the other, as also verified by me, 

 was fully as large and swollen as those fearful creatures that 



1921 June 1 



