PIED-BILLED DABCHICK. 569 



water and fly heavily though not laboriously for some distance, and that, 

 too, when they were not pressed for diving-room. With us they are more 

 numerous in spring, migrating singly or in small scattered flocks of six 

 or eight. In the fall flocks consisting of apparently a single brood, keep- 

 ing closely together, are sometimes seen. 



Mr. Langdon in Summer Birds, (1. c), gives the following interesting 

 and valuable notes upon the nesting habits of this species as observed by 

 him in Northern Ohio. 



" As more or less donbt appears to prevail in regard to the building of floating neste 

 by members of the Grebe family, I desire here to testify to the fact that the nests of 

 the present species does float, notwithstanding the skeptical 'it is said ' of Dr. Cones, in 

 his remarks on the nidiflcation of the family. 



"The little floating island of decaying vegetation held together by mnd and moss, 

 which constitutes the nest of this species, is a veritable ornithological curiosity. Im- 

 agine a ' pancake ' of what appears to be mud, measuring twelve or fifteen inches in 

 diameter, and rising two or three inches above the water, which may be from one to 

 three feet in depth ; anchor it to the bottom with a few concealed blades of ' saw-grass,' 

 in a little open bay, leaving its drcumference entirely free ; remove a mass of wet muck 

 fi:om its rounded top and you expose seven or eight soiled brownish- white eggs, resting 

 in a depression the bottom of which is less than an inch from the water ; the whole mass 

 is constantly damp. This is the nest of the Dabchick, who is out foraging in the marsh, 

 or perhaps is anxiously watching us from some safe cover near by. 



" The anchoring blades of coarse saw-grass or flags, being always longer than is neces- 

 sary to reach the bottom, permit of considerable lateral and vertical movement of th« 

 nest, and effectually provide against drowning of the eggs by any ordinary rise in the 

 water-level such as frequently occurs during the prevalence of strong easterly winds 

 on the lake. A small bunch of saw-grass already growing in a suitable situation is 

 evidently selected as a nucleus for the nest, and the tops bent so as to form part of it, 



"During the day we invariably found the eggs concealed by a covering of muck as 

 above described, but, as we ascertained by repeated visits at night and in the early 

 morning, they are uncovered at dusk by the bird who incubates them until the morn- 

 ing sun relieves her of her task. 



" The complement of eggs is usually seven, but we took one set of eight. 



" The above description applies equally well to any of the six nests observed by us, 

 and to the dozens observed by Mr. Porter at the same locality, during the past four or 

 five years ; he notes, however, a few instances in which the nest, instead of being en- 

 tirely free at its circumference, as above described, was held in place by the surrounding 

 ' deer-tongue ' {Saggiiaria ?)." 



