212 
allen’s naturalist's library. 
refuge of the Grebes on the approach of danger, and their dark 
breeding-plumage effectually harmonised with their surround- 
mgs, as they dived out of danger and re-appeared amidst the 
shelter of the water-plants. The bright colour on the base of 
the bill often proved the easiest mode of detecting them. 
As a rule the nest was placed on the fringe of The reed-beds 
skirting the lake, and the eggs, when first laid, were left exposed 
covered. One nest which I found with 
the full complement of eggs, was so thickly covered with wet 
water-weeds and rushes, that the eggs had to be felt for 
beneath It, and for some time I thought that the birds had 
deserted them, as they were always cold, and showed no signs 
o incubation, ^ough day by day they became more and more 
discoloured. The constant presence of a pair of birds, how- 
ever, in the vicinity of this nest, led me to believe that it was 
not deserted, and I more than once uncovered the eggs, only to 
find the wet covering replaced on each occasion. Intent on 
finding out whether the birds re-covered the eggs on leaving the 
nest, I approached it cautiously many times, but the Grebes 
appeared to hpe always detected my approach, and were 
placidly swimnnng in the middle of the lake, as if such a thin- 
as a nest was tlie last thing in their minds. Once, however I 
managed to come down upon it unperceived, when one of the 
parent birds flew away in a great fright, and no possible time 
was allowed for it to cover the eggs. They were, nevertheless, 
completely hidden, not by a few rushes, such as the bird could 
scrape together m a hurry, but by a dense covering of wetted 
and rotten weeds. I came to the conclusion that, in this 
instance at least, the hatching of the eggs would be left to the 
neat of the sun and the fermentation of the material of which 
the nest was composed. That this takes place in other 
coun rics has been affirmed by Mr. A. O. Hume and other 
excellent observers. 
The time which the Little Grebe can spend beneath the 
surface IS remarkable. I once drove one of these birds into a 
clitch about five feet wide, ending in a cul-de-sac, and felt sure 
that I Should secure it. While standing on the bank, waiting 
Jor the bird to appear, I was astonished to see it swimming 
below me Having evidently discovered that there was no 
outlet at the end of the ditch, it turned beneath the water and 
