Page:Condor12(6).djvu/13

 Nov.,1910 NESTING NOTES ON AMERICAN EARED AND PIED-BILLED GREBES 191 with their wings to attract our attention away from the nests. These demonstra- tions were, however, confined entirely to the Pied-bills, the Eared Grebes exhibit- ing little or no interest in their nests. By the third week in May the great majority of nests contained full comple- ments of eggs, and one set of eggs was hatching on May 18. During the early part of June sets of eggs and broods of newly hatcht young were equally abundant, and by June 20 a large majority of the eggs had t/atcht. The freshly hatcht young were very pretty little fellows covered with black down, broadly streakt with whitish stripes running lengthwise of the head and body, giving them a somewhat sinuous appearance when in the water. They evi- dently take to the water as soon as hatcht, and are wonderfully active and quick. Fig. 62. THE SAME NEST AS IN FIGURE 61 WITH COVERING REMOVED SHOWING EGGS A baby grebe half the size of a chick can swim as fast as a man can wade thru the water comfortably, and the distance they can swim under water at this tender age is surprizing. They hide very effectively by diving and coming up to the surface under tiny bits of floating moss or rubbish, where they lie perfectly still with only the tips of their tiny bills exposed above the water. Their feet are ab- normally large, which probably accounts for their remarkable swimming ability, and when quiet in the water the feet and head float on the surface, the rest of the body being submerged. The only note of the young grebe is very similar to the "cheep" of the domestic chick, first heard when the egg is pipt--very weak and tiny at first, but growing in strength and power as the bird becomes larger, until by the time the young are three-fourths grown the note is quite loud and clear.