226 



THE OOLOGIST 



ed, a second one was at once erected 

 on the site of the old one and another 

 complement of eggs became my lawful 

 prize. The bird looked down with 

 some disdain upon such unruly conduct 

 on my part, and seemed to convey the 

 idea by excessive whistling that I must 

 not do that again, but I did, and was 

 only too glad of the opportunity. Then 

 the fun began. My desk was on the 

 opposite side of the room by a window, 

 and whenever that wren would sp,y me 

 writing, slie would perch herself on the 

 edge of the wall overhead and scratch 

 dirt down on my book in such quantities 

 that I was eventually obliged to pull 

 the desk out into the room far enough 

 to be out of her reach, nor would all 

 the throwing of beans or small gravel 

 at her keep her from venting her spite 

 on me for having robbed her out of house 

 and home three times in succession. 

 E - Wilkinson, 

 Mansfield, Ohio 



Nesting Habits of the Hades Plunger. 



BY SHEOL DIVER. 



This bird is properly known as the 

 Grebe, and also as the Carolina Grebe, 

 Pied-bill Grebe, Dab-chick, Die-dap- 

 per, Spirit Duck, and by at least a 

 dozen other names. 



Profanely, it is often called, and too, 

 with a degree of grim irony, as well as 

 facetiously — Hell Diver. This is the 

 name it invariably goes by among the 

 boys, and with most of the residents of 

 the country. We might also term it tiie 

 Sheol Plunger, or the Gahenna Diver, 

 but we prefer to keep up with the times, 

 and therefore, in accordance with the 

 latest authority in infernal names, 

 namely, the revised edition of the Bible, 

 we will call this bird, and so let it be 

 accepted, as Hades Plunger; other- 

 wise as Poclilymbus popiceps according 

 to American Ornithologist Union selah. 



The Hades Plunger is a very easy bird 



to kill when you hit him, but he is de- 

 cidedly hard to hit, and, in fact is sel- 

 dom hit in my neighborhood. For he 

 is a most elusive chap, and can dodge 

 any number of bullets with eas>e, pro- . 

 vided the shots all come from one direc- 

 tion, and he has his weather eye open to 

 visitors. It is safe to wager ten to one 

 that a good (hell)thy Hades Plunger on 

 a lake can escape from a single hunter 

 either on land or in a boat every time. 

 It is only by sneaking and shooting at 

 an unsuspicious bird, or by surround- 

 ing one on the water, that this wary 

 diver can be taken. When several 

 hunters are firing rapidly at sir 'H. P.' 

 from different directions, it is but natur- 

 al that the wary bird should get 'rattled' 

 and at last fall a victim. There are 

 occasional instances when a collector 

 secures a bird very easily and without 

 sneaking, but these opportunities are 

 rare and grand exceptions. It is cus- 

 tomary for collectors thus favored, to 

 immediately proclaim that divers are 

 very easy to kill. The chances are, that 

 the bird was. an immature, and had not 

 yet cut its eye-teeth, and was not fully 

 educated. I can safely say that for its 

 size, the H. P. is the most difficult bird 

 to kill that I know of. It will dive at 

 the flash and escape when less than 

 thirty feet away from the hunter, as I 

 have repeatedly proven. Like the 

 'Irishman's flea, ' he is not there when 

 you think you have him. 



I once nearly cornered one in a shal- 

 low place at the edge of a mill-pond, 

 and had an opportunity to observe its 

 actions under water. It used its wings 

 as a means of propulsion and might ' be 

 said to literally fly under water. Its 

 *vings beat in a regular motion, while 

 its feet moved alternately as with all 

 other swimming birds. 



I have taken much pleasure in study- 

 ing the breeding habits of this species, 

 and found that it nests in many situa- 

 tions where its presence was not sus- 

 pected. Its habits can only be observ- 



