MISS E. L. TURNER ON THE COOT AND CRESTED GREBE. 451 
The Coot is quietly sitting on her eggs, while the Grebe is 
in the act of removing the decayed vegetation with which 
she almost always covers her eggs when obliged to quit them. 
This action of the Grebe is not as deliberate as a mere glance 
at the picture would lead one to suppose. On the contrary, 
the motion of the bird’s bill is so swift, just a right and left 
sweep, that any exposure of less than ^ of a second fails 
to record it. In fact all this series was taken at that rate 
of exposure. 
In the second picture, the Grebe has not yet returned, 
her three eggs are unusually well covered, and this photograph 
shows the rather extraordinary height of both nests. This 
unusual height may perhaps have been owing to the very 
heavy eight hours’ thunder-storm of the previous Sunday, 
when the water rose considerably and the nests of many of 
the ground- building birds were swamped. Indeed, Nudd's 
cheerful greeting when I arrived the day before was, “There’s 
nothing left for you to photograph except the Coot and Grebe ; 
they’re all washed out.’’ 
On Sunday I left the birds in peace. Next day. May 21st, 
I uttered a loud exclamation of dismay as we glided up to 
my nests. They presented a most disorderly appearance, 
especially the Grebe’s (plate 3), so that I felt sure rats had 
destroyed the eggs, but on pushing up close to the Coot’s 
nest, out tumbled two animated balls of fluff, which at once 
found a hiding-place in the reed beds, only betrayed by little 
silvery-bell-like cries of distress. Also there were but two 
eggs in the Grebe’s nest, and these two quite warm, so quietly 
and hastily slipping into my hiding-place. I anxiously awaited 
results. That was a never-to-be-forgotten day. I soon found 
that I need only crouch behind the bank of litter that covered 
mv camera and be as quiet as possible in changing the plates. 
Nobody minded me, so absolutely absorbed were these four 
parents in their little families. The Coot soon returned with 
her two chicks, and the latter found climbing into the nest 
a much more arduous undertaking than the roll out had been. 
The male Coot came to and fro with food all day, both for 
his mate and the chicks (plate 6). The Grebe also came back 
