Among the Water-Fowl 



found to be the common species of the poplar 

 growth, with a few Sparrow Hawks, Song and 

 White-throated Sparrows, Mourning Warblers, and 

 doubtless other small birds, sprinkled in. No more 

 of the Grebes' eggs, I found, had hatched, but the 

 loose egg-shells were gone, as was the youngster. 

 One of the shells I found about ten yards from the 



nest, floating 

 among the reeds, 

 whither the old 

 bird, no doubt, 

 had carried it. 



This large 

 Grebe seems not 

 very common in 

 Dakota, though I 

 met it sparingly 

 in the larger fresh 

 water lakes. But 

 everywhere in the 

 prairie sloughs 



NEST OF PIED-BILLED GREBE, NORTH DAKOTA ^ ^1 



one meets the 

 familiar Pied-billed and Horned Grebes, as well as 

 the Eared. I did not find these first two in colonies, 

 but each pair nesting by itself, usually well out in 

 the deepest water. One day I was exploring a large 

 slough in a boat that I had carted miles for the pur- 

 pose, when I came upon a small Grebes' nest with 

 one egg. out in nearly open water, anchored to a 

 few stems of grass. Quite near it was a Horned 

 Grebe that probably was the owner. The wind 

 was violent, and the waves were breaking over the 

 nest all the time. Probably other eggs had been 



30 



