2 
GllEAT CRESTED GREBE. 
species, the small family grew far less timid, taking in course of time but little notice of the punt at the 
distance of forty or fifty yards. This brood in their infancy corresponded precisely with the young figured 
by Gould, with the exception that the hare patch on the crown of the head exhibited a pale flesh tint, instead 
of the deep red depicted in the plate, that hue not being assumed till three or four hours after death. Later 
in the season I captured another young bird, out of a brood of four, probably ten days or a fortnight old, and 
endeavoured to rear it, small fish and water-insects being administered as food. Nothing that we offered 
appeared palatable; and after surviving two or three days without nourishment, the unfortunate became 
gradually weaker, and in the end succumbed to exhaustion. 
A few lines extracted from my notes will give an idea of the food on which this species subsists while 
resorting to the freshwater broads; — “July 5, 1873. While fishing on Ormsby Broad, I noticed a number 
of broods, some newly hatched, while others were almost full-grown. Whether large or small, these juveniles 
appeared equally helpless, making not the slightest attempt to capture fish for themselves, but depending 
entirely on their pai’cnts. The youngsters followed at a respectful distance, the old birds diving occasionally, 
and when reappearing with prey one or other of the family would instantly swim up and claim its share. 
A keeper in the district, considered an authority on such matters, assured me that Grebes always rear their 
young on eels ; to-day, however, I watched numerous broods fed repeatedly, and the food supplied appeared 
in most instances to consist of small roach. Tbe operation was watched through powerful glasses at the 
distance of from forty to sixty yards, so there could scarcely have been any error as to the identity of the 
captives, a clear view being obtained of the fish while in the beak of the captor. 
“ July 25. Wind south-west, still and fine ; the surface of the broad like a sheet of glass at daybreak. A 
pair of old Grebes (now showing a slight diminution in the frill) were seen with two young ; as the latter were 
in a state (apparently between three and five weeks old) not previously examined, I secured both with but little 
difficulty, when the difference in size proved remarkable, one being double the weight of the other. Both 
exhibited a patch of bare flesh on the crown of the head, as well as in a line between the eye and the gape. 
The beak was black at the base on both mandibles, the remainder white with a narrow black mark near 
the point. Iris grey ; legs and feet yellow and black mottled. Breast feathered ; head, neck, and back 
still covered with down, no feathers showing on the wing. The stomach of the larger only contained a few 
feathers, apparently from the old bird, Avhile the smaller had in addition a couple of perch between two and 
three inches in length.” 
The courtship of this species is an exceedingly amusing scene, and is referred to repeatedly in my 
notes. Under heading of March Gth, 1873, I find the following: — “This w*as the first day of the season that 
Loons were noticed on the broad, a pair in the llickling corner proving unusually fearless. For over an hour 
I watched them sailing round one another, and occasionally pulling up and bowing their heads in the most 
singular manner. Whenever a halt was made the two birds swam up alongside and at once brought up, so 
that each faced the opposite direction. The grunts and squeals they gave vent to and the antics gone through 
need to be heard and seen to form the slightest idea as to their quaintness ; to describe them accurately is 
utterly impossible.” On May lotb, 1883, weather fine and hot, I again witnessed a most singular 
demonstration. The birds were evidently engaged in courting, though from time to time they desisted, and 
proceeded to wash and clean their plumage, the movements the pair went through being almost precisely 
identical. To conclude the performance, each trimmed the feathers of the other, like the Guillemots and 
Gannets repeatedly Avatclied on the Bass Rock ; I remarked that the bird operated upon stretched its head 
upwards while the other paid particular attention to preening the short feathers of the throat and neck. 
These noisy greetings not unfrequently take place in the reed-bushes ; I have repeatedly listened to pairs calling 
loudly and to the splashing of the water, though the birds themselves were invisible. From the beginning 
of March till the middle of May the discordant sounds uttered by the Grebes may be heard in still Aveather. 
