East Lexington, Mass. 
1399. 
May 6. 
( 2 ). 
Podilyinbus podicep s. 
s 
Nesting of Pied-bilT Greoe. 
pletely hidden by a thin layer of moss and water plants which 
the bird had evidently drawn over the eggs just before leaving 
vhtim. Both nests were very neat and compact and very bouyant 
also as I found by pressing them down with my hand. The eggs 
lay in a saucer-shaped depression the bottom of which was on¬ 
ly slightly (less than an inch) above the surface of the water. 
The entire nest was soaking wet and its materials fresh and 
green save on the very top where there was a thin layer of 
light brown material that gave it the appearance of floating 
meadow "trash". Each nest was almost perfectly round and the 
covered one was slightly dome-shaped but its top rose scarce 
two inches above the water and it would not have attracted 
the attention of any one who was unfamiliar with the Grebe's 
peculiar manner of nesting. Indeed I did not see either nest 
until it was pointed out to me although I was looking "with 
all ray eyes". The Sweet Gale, already in half leaf, gave 
some shelter, of course, out even had it been leafless the 
character of the nests was such that they might have been 
easily overlooked at a distance of a few yards. 
Later we found a third nest with seven eggs, in a more 
open place among scanty, leafless Button Bushes. This nest 
was similar in every way to the other two. Very near it was 
a partly finished nest which the boys considered a "bluff 
nest". B r e saw many of these "bluff nests" elsewhere. 
