Sex Habits of the Great Crested Grebe. 199 



slightly extended, and that they were quivering. The male 

 came up, not far away from her, and, after another dive, still 

 closer. Then, diving again, he immediately rose, just beside 

 her, standing upright, like a Penguin, almost, as it seemed, 

 on the water. At that time, the wings of the female were 

 more widely extended, and the pair presented the appearance 

 shown in Huxley's very interesting sketch,* except that it 

 struck me that the sample was not a first quality one, but likely 

 to be much more developed when the season was more advanced. 

 After remaining in their respective poses for a few seconds, 

 both the birds resumed their normal attitude on the water, 

 and there was now a small outburst of head-twitchings 

 between them. Here, again, they advanced their beaks 

 towards each other, and seemed always on the point of 

 nebbing or touching with them, which, however, they never 

 did do. 



There is now on the reservoir where I first watched from the 

 boat-house, a regular flotilla of Dabchicks, which I make out, 

 first, to consist of eleven, then of twelve, and lastly of fourteen, 

 a separated pair having been overtaken by the main body. 

 The head keeper also noticed fourteen, a day or two ago. 

 Though they all went together, from the reedy corner by the 

 boat-houses, to another part of the water, yet it was easy, 

 first here, then there, now, and then again, to make out 

 pairs of undoubtedly mated birds, which in a general way, 

 were masked by their congregating. It is just the same with 

 the Great Crested Grebe, and these two species show an 

 essential similarity of general habits, with an entire absence, 

 in the smaller and less adorned kind, of those curious displaying 

 ones which distinguish the larger and handsomer. This 

 certainly seems to indicate that development of display, 

 and of the thing displayed, have gone together, the one arising 

 out of and then reacting on the other. 



Feb. 25TH. — To-day there was not a single Dabchick that 

 I could see, where, yesterday, the little flotilla of fourteen 

 was so conspicuous. On the whole of the water, not one ap- 

 peared, and on the Wilston reservoir I only noticed two. 

 This sudden disappearance is very striking, and seems to 

 suggest that these birds have returned to the little creeks 

 and inlets of their nesting days, though, for the matter of 

 that, there is no part of the reeds here that does not seem 

 a quite eligible situation. 



A pair of Crested Grebes, on the Wilston water, nebbed, 

 so far as I could make out with the glasses, several times. 

 The bills appeared to coalesce, and the appertaining actions 

 were distinctly those of mutual prehension, attended with 



* Loc. cit., plate 2, fig. 12. 

 1921 June 1 



