BIRDS HUNTED FOR FOOD OR SPORT. 47 



Eggs. — Four to eight, dull white, often tinged with greenish, more or less 



soiled or stained, about 1.70 by 1. 

 Season. — Summer resident; late March or early April to December. 

 Range. — North and South America. Breeds from British Columbia and 



New Brunswick south to Chile and Argentina, but often rare or local; 



winters from Washington, Texas, Mississippi and Potomac valley 



southward. 



History. 



The Pied-billed Grebe is the common Grebe of eastern 

 inland waters. Undoubtedly it once bred here in considerable 

 numbers, and as its habits during the breeding season are very 

 secretive, it is probably more common still, locally, than the 

 few records of its nesting would lead us to believe. Appar- 

 ently it was very common in Massachusetts as late as the 

 middle of the last century; but it has diminished much in 

 numbers of late, and has disappeared from many places where 

 it bred no longer than twenty or thirty years ago. It is shot 

 wantonly by boys, gunners and sportsmen at every oppor- 

 tunity. Were it not for its facility in diving and concealing 

 itself, it probably would have been extirpated ere now. This 

 and all other Grebes should be protected by law at all times. 

 Grebes are practically worthless as food, but they have a 

 certain aesthetic value. Alive, they belong to all the people, 

 and give pleasure to all who have the opportunity to watch 

 their peculiar motions and antics. Dead, they are the prop- 

 erty of the shooter, and are valueless beyond what their 

 plumage will bring from the milliners' agent. There is a 

 great demand for their plumage at times, and this demand 

 alone may lead to their extinction, unless they are protected 

 always. They are useful as decoys to lure water-fowl into our 

 ponds and lakes, as they are less cautious than most other 

 fowl, and whenever Grebes alight in a lake or river other wild- 

 fowl will follow. Grebes are far more useful alive to the 

 gunner as decoys than they can ever be for any purpose after 

 death. 



These little fowls have many natural enemies. Hawks 

 stoop at them from the air above; turtles, fish and water 

 snakes attack them from the depths. I once saw a Grebe, 

 while watching a Hawk, spring out of the water to escape a 



