6 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. 



pond. It was constructed in an exposed position amongst a few 

 rushes, scarcely concealed at all, and the decayed vegetable mat- 

 ter of which it was made was completely soaked with water. The 

 birds are readily identified, but most of the eggs present no obvious 

 difference from those of the pied-billed grebe; a few of them, 

 however, are longer and a trifle larger. {Rev. C. J. young!) 

 Breeds in the St. Clair marshes, and in smaller numbers in marshes 

 at Point Pelee, Lake Erie. (W. Saunders!) 



On June 15th a few nests were seen in a marsh near Crane lake, 

 ■ Sask. This species, so far as I know, does not breed in colonies, 

 and Mr. W. Saunders writes me to the same effect. The nests at 

 Crane lake were placed on small mounds of mud on reeds float- 

 ing on the water, and three taken contained four, five and eight 

 eggs respectively. 



4. American Eared Grebe, 



Colymius nigricellis californicus (Heerm.) Ridgw. 1885. 



A specimen in the flesh sent to Dr. Yarmir of Lucknow, Bruce 

 CO., Ont., from Colpoy bay. Lake Huron. {Mclllwraith.) 



A common summer resident in Manitoba, breeding in great 

 numbers in many of the lakes and ponds. They make their nests 

 on rushes, composed of the same material. We found as many 

 as six eggs in some nests, but in the greater number of nests only 

 four. {E.T. Seton.)l!h.is bird is found in all parts of the prairie region 

 where there is suitable water and cover; it occurs as far north as 

 Great Slave lake, {Ross) and is found all through the southern 

 part of British Columbia. Unlike the horned grebe it breeds in 

 colonies or groups of a dozen or more nests and we have often 

 looked down on them in the small lakes of the interior as they sat 

 on their nests with the water all around them. In nearly all cases 

 the eggs were partly covered by water. Coubeaux says this 

 species is much rarer than the horned grebe on the Saskatchewan. 



. Breeding Notes. — I have found this species breeding abund- 

 antly at Long lake and Shoal lake, Manitoba. On Junegth, 1894, 

 I found a nest containing as many as nine eggs at Shoal lake, but 

 six or seven is the usual number of eggs laid. {Raine.) Breeding in 

 numbers at Burnt lake. Alberta. A number of sets taken June 14th 

 and 15th, 1896. {Dippie.) Saunders counted 500 birds in an arm of 



