COURTSHIP OF THE GREAT CRESTED GREBE, 547 
attitude. The cock dived, and came up five or six yards off 
with a fair-sized bunch of weeds in his mouth. Strange to say, 
he was in something very like the normal swimming attitude, 
though his ruff was fairly well erected. On seeing him the hen 
to my surprise put her crest down, turned, and swam away, and 
the cock could do nothing but drop his weed, lower his crest, too, 
and swim after her. Nothing particular happened in the sub- 
sequent five or ten minutes. 
Here, when the emotional excitement reached a certain pitch, 
the hen had a sudden attack of “coyness” (ef. similar behaviour 
in the female Redshank, Huxley, 12,, p. 651). 
7. April 16. 1.30 p.m. 
I caught a pair shaking. Suddenly, and for no apparent 
reason, the hen flew off, flapping along the water. 1 followed 
her, but she simply settled in an ordinary attitude. However, 
on looking back at the cock again, I found him engaged in 
shaking with another hen. The first hen, therefore, must have 
been a casual acquaintance, who departed hastily on seeing the 
rightful mate coming up. The rightful pair shook 4 or 5 times 
(without any habit-preening), and then on a sudden the cock 
flew a few yards off, and put himself into the best cat-attitude 
IT have seen. He turned round, first one way and then the 
other, just as the Peacock does when in display, and then, 
gradually un-arching his wings and raising his neck, swam back 
to begin shaking once more with his mate. This time they shook 
about ten times; habit-preening began about halfway through, 
and at the same time the ruffs were half lowered. ‘Then they 
both dived nearly simultaneously, and I saw them no more (they 
must have made a very long dive and got into the reeds). 
This is a very good example of the pure Display ceremony (see 
p. 513), here induced by the extra excitement of the previous 
“ flirtation.” 
8. April17. 1.30 p.m. A pair. 
I saw a pair shaking; they went on for a very long time (no 
notes as to habit-preening), and finally one (sex ®) dived. As it 
did so, I saw the other convert its crest into an “ Klizabethan 
ruft”; after a few seconds it too dived. Both came up with weed 
in their mouths, fairly close to each other, and the usual Penguin- 
dance was gone through, followed by a short bout of shaking. 
They then put their crests down, and swam off together. To 
progress faster, they took three long dives, each time going under 
almost simultaneously. After the third dive they came up close 
to a single bird (sex ?), which at once went into the Dundreary- 
attitude, Then all three dived in quick succession, and after 
some time two, which I presume to have been the original pair, 
came up close together, and at once began to shake, starting in 
the excited forward position. After that I lost sight of them. 
