The Submerged Tenth 



no two nests were very near together. The habit 

 ot the birds on these clear lakes of patrolling near 

 the nest renders this very easy to find. I liked to 

 stand still, nearly hidden in the reeds, and see the 

 graceful lovers, close together, glide in so near to 

 me that I could note every detail of plumage and 

 motion. The red patches on the sides of the neck 

 fairly glowed in the sun, as though they might 

 easily do the same at night of their own radiance. 



During my stay in the Turtle Mountains, I 

 found several nests of the Holboell's Grebe. One 

 was of more than ordinary interest. I saw the bird 

 swim out from the reeds, as usual, and right there 

 was the nest, with three eggs and the two segments 

 of the shell of a hatched egg. The youthful occu- 

 pant had evidently just emerged, and there it was in 

 the water, trying to follow its mother. I waded 

 farther out, and the little fellow, either in confu- 

 sion, or seeking a friend, swam back to me, looking 

 up into my face. I picked it up, a curious tiger- 

 striped thing, so long and slim that it reminded me 

 of a weasel. Then I replaced it in the nest, but at 

 the first opportunity it scrambled out, and dis- 

 appeared among the reeds. In two of the eggs I 

 could hear the young chirping. 



I went back to camp for dinner, and then re- 

 turned to the Grebes' nest. On the way I investi- 

 gated the home of some Purple Martins in a 

 Flickers' hole, well up a tall, slippery poplar stub, 

 finding, after a hard struggle, that the nest contained 

 five eggs. This species, Barn and Tree Swallows, 

 Bronzed Grackles, Flickers, Downy Woodpeckers, 

 Sapsuckers, House Wrens and Red-tailed Hawks I 



29 



