HABITS OF THE GREAT CRESTED GREBE. 171 



touching, and keep moving them from side to side in opposite 

 directions, their two beaks crossing each other and shooting out 

 suddenly on each side of the two necks like sharp little daggers. 

 At the same time they both utter a short, quickly repeated note 

 of a clucking or clacking description, strongly expressive of 

 content and gratulation — and this they did before, though I 

 omitted to note it. It is thus evident that it is the habit of 

 these birds when fighting to dive and attack each other under the 

 water, and this habit they share with the Black Guillemot, and 

 no doubt with other diving birds. Judging by the way in which 

 the one bird flew off, he must, I think, have received a very 

 effective spear-thrust from the other's beak. 



I now think it possible that I was mistaken as to its having 

 been the male which I first saw alone by the ruined nest that 

 went through the first congratulation scene with the female. It 

 does not seem likely that a bird so favoured and victorious should 

 have allowed a third party to "consort" with its spouse, and 

 afterwards, till the final discomfiture of the third bird, the pair 

 were always together. I might have mistaken the two birds, as 

 one, at least, was frequently diving, probably the other also, but I 

 cannot now recall it clearly. It is even possible that there may 

 have been a transposition of the two owing to such an attack as 

 I have described, but which, not being quite so salient as the 

 other ones, as well as quite new to me, I may have missed. Still 

 there is nothing except what seems to me now to be the proba- 

 bility of the case which should make me doubt the accuracy of 

 my observation. But we have this point which is interesting, 

 that the solitary and defeated male remained during the interval 

 between two attacks made upon him near the place where the 

 nest had been, and this was where I first saw the supposed other 

 male. Now, what should a new arrival know about this nest 

 of two other birds ? unless, indeed, he had destroyed it ; and then 

 his feelings would not be of such a nature as to prompt him to 

 hang sadly about it. Bat now, suppose that he had indeed 

 destroyed it, ousted the other bird, and supplanted him in the 

 affections of his wife, then we can understand that other one 

 lingering near the ruins of his home. That this should really 

 have been the case seems altogether improbable, but perhaps the 

 possibility is not quite excluded. It was on the morning that I 



