A BI-MONTHLY MAGAZINE 



DEVOTED TO THE STUDY AND PROTECTION OF BIRDS 



Official Organ of The Audubon Societies 



Vol. XVI 



July— August, 1914 



No. 4 



At Home with a Hell-Diver 



Some Observations on the Nesting of the Pied-billed Grebe 



By ARTHUR A. ALLEN, Ithaca, N. Y. 



With photographs by the author 



FEW birds are more widely distributed than the Pied-billed Grebe. 

 Occurring from the region of the Great Slave Lake to Chile and Argen- 

 tina, it differs from most birds in breeding throughout its range. It 

 is, indeed, rather local 

 in its distribution, and 

 in some places almost 

 absent; but the pond, 

 lake, or stream that 

 has not had its 'Hell- 

 diver,' at least during 

 the period of migration, 

 is very exceptional. It 

 is common, it is well 

 known, if familiarity 

 with its name implies 

 knowledge of it, and 

 yet it has been one of 

 the least studied of 

 our familiar birds. Ob- 

 servations on its nest- 

 ing habits have been 

 extremely desultory ; 

 careful studies have as 

 yet not been made. 



Nor is this with- 

 out reason. Few birds 



offer greater diincul- ^^^ j^^g^ qp ^jjp, hell-diver, a floating 



ties to the ornitholo- mass of debris 



