The American Eared Grebe 



divers were observed from a blind on Laguna Blanca, near Santa Barbara. 

 They "had their suspicions," so that although the excitement of the sub- 

 marine fishing led them often towards shore, each bird faced away prompt- 

 ly after its emergence. As it pulled away with strong stroke, it also 

 spread out its rear plumage (it is hardly proper to speak of a grebe's 

 tail) in a conspicuous fan-shaped fluff. Whether this movement was 

 intended as a menace or a sign of derision levelled at the suspected 

 stranger, or whether it was only a "banner mark" for the guidance of 

 its comrades, I could not tell. If I could have been real sure — but then 

 I had no gun. A hundred feet seemed about the proper limit, at which 

 point the bird would stop, thumbing its nose en arriere, and would recon- 

 sider the question of diving. In going below individuals differed marked- 

 ly both in method and vigor. All leaped into the air, indeed, but one of 

 them merely turned over in his tracks, while another, more active, 

 cleared a horizontal space of untouched water more than a foot in width 

 each time he dived. 



Some confusion still exists between the nesting of this bird and 

 that of the Pied-billed Grebe. The fact is, the Eared Grebe is either 

 solitary or gregarious at nesting time. It nests also from sea-level to 

 the highest altitudes which afford sufficient cover of water-plants. 



Taken in Merced County Photo by the Author 



A COVERED NEST 



2054 



