HABITS OF THE GREAT CBESTED OBEBE. 165 



Cormorant-like as the male's. The male floats or swims about 

 in the neighbourhood as before, continually preening himself. 

 Sometimes he will make a little swift gliding leap up in the water 

 and smartly shake his wings. This upward motion is very 

 graceful and snake-like, for, as the body rises, the long neck, 

 which seems but an extension of it, curves backwards, upwards, 

 and again forwards as the bird sinks back on the water, the whole 

 motion much resembling the quick forward glide of a serpent . 

 The male bird makes now, at short intervals, four approaches to 

 the nest, and at each of these the female lowers her head, and, 

 with neck stretched forward, lies all along the nest, obviously 

 prepared for and expecting his marital attentions. Each time, 

 too, the male swimming to the right place at the nest and craning 

 his neck over it, seems on the point of springing up, but does 

 not do so. He preens the feathers of his neck, again seems 

 about to spring, preens again, and swims away. After the fourth 

 return he swam to a good way off, and remained some time away, 

 after which there were three more approaches, when the same 

 thing took place. The female must have put herself in position 

 on the nest at least a dozen times, and would often slightly raise 

 her head and look round at the male, then again lower it as 

 before. On no other occasion have I seen her lie thus with 

 her head and neck stretched straight out, and fiat along the 

 nest. I wish to make it quite plain that these actions of the two 

 birds, seen, practically, by the aid of the glasses at a few yards 

 distance, could admit of no other interpretation than that which 

 I have placed upon them : so that, taken together with what I 

 have already recorded, they seem to show that the nest is the 

 habitual pairing-place of these Grebes. 



After the seventh failure the female came off the nest, and the 

 male bird shortly took her place. This was at 7. She then 

 swam right away, and when I left about 7.40 she had not 

 returned. On the third return of the male bird to the nest he 

 dived, and came up with a large lump of weed in his bill, which 

 he brought to the nest. On the fourth there was an incident 

 with a Moor-hen. The latter stood just on the edge of the bank, 

 which formed an abrupt grassy slope, and its presence seemed 

 resented by the male Grebe, who swam towards it in a hostile 

 manner. The Moor-hen retreated a little way up the bank, and 



