358 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1919. 
and the lip,” as well in the life of a tern as of men, and many a 
poise, many a descent, even many a plunge, brings no other reward 
than the lesson of patience and perseverance. Among the tules and 
other rushes that frequently border the desert lakes the Forster 
tern may be found breeding, often in close-crowded colonies and on 
friendly and intimate terms with grebes, gulls, or other marsh- 
loving species. The nest is built up from the ground, often with 
some care, of reeds and flags and other water plants, with a lining 
of similar material. The approach of any intruder is well-nigh 
sure to arouse a clamorous outcry from the rising birds, which dash 
threateningly at him from above, but when near at hand swerve to 
one side and pass swiftly by and up again to repeat the performance. 
The well-known coot, in its somber dress of gray, with mask of 
startling white, frequents these ponds and lakes wherever there is 
promise of requisite seclusion. It moves unobtrusively in and out 
among the reeds that skirt the margins of the pools; and if at times 
it ventures more into the open, it is ever ready at the slightest alarm 
to seek the cover again. It may perchance be seen cautiously slip- 
ping away from its nest, on which it can scarcely ever be surprised ; 
or it may be found swimming about surrounded by its gaudily be- 
decked but sturdy and precocious infants. 
Tule Lake, in northeastern California, close to the western edge 
of the Great Basin, is a good example of the shallow, though some- 
what extensive, desert lakes. It is so named from the common dark- 
green, round-stemmed tule, or rush, which grows luxuriantly in the 
water about its margin, particularly at the northern end. This 
growth of tules reaches out in places fully a quarter of a mile from 
the shore, now intermittently, now in wide stretches unbroken save 
by small spaces of open water, and forms extensive marshes that 
attract myriads of birds. 
Among the waterfowl drawn to these marshes the western grebe 
is notable for size, dignity of appearance, and grace of carriage, as 
it lightly rides the water with head well poised and neck erect, and 
were it not commonly so retiring in disposition would much more 
frequently claim attention. Although it is able to fly well, its home 
is the water, and there in habit and action it is strikingly loonlike. 
It swims excellently even entirely submerged, or with but the head 
and the long bill protruding above the water, presenting then a 
strikingly serpentine appearance. Sometimes, when at rest on the 
water and seeking escape from observation, it may be seen to settle 
slowly lower and lower, as though drawn downward by an unseen 
force, till body, neck, and finally head sink out of sight, leaving not 
the suggestion of a ripple to disturb the mirrored surface of the 
water. Out in the lake, among the tules, it heaps up a rough-looking 
