Thomas Alfred Coward

“ Anyone who has watched ducks alighting, or has studied the beautiful drawings of such bird artists as Thorburn and Lodge, must have seen that the duck when near the water throws its head, neck, and shoulders back and its tail and feet forward, checking its pace with its wings, so that it actually impinges with the feet first. The grebe flies with the head and neck a little lower than the plane of the body, in that way resembling divers rather than ducks, but when about to alight, slightly elevates~both neck and feet, which trail well behind ”

“ A favourite suggestion that it is getting near nesting time is made by the male, who dives for submerged weed, and bringing up a strand waves it in front of his lady. Sometimes, but not often, the male approaches with the ear tufts drooping, and usually with depressed frill, but during the bill kissing, ear tufts are erected, frill fully expanded, so that it stands out, framing the curious Japanese face. ”

“ When avoiding danger the bird seldom flies; if suspicious it sinks the body, so that almost the whole of the back is submerged—it often swims with the lower neck awash—and if threatened dives, travelling to safety under water. The statement that it seldom flies is, however, erroneous; during courtship, and at other times, the grebe flies swiftly and frequently ”

“ So freely do bone and muscle work that the bird can easily raise a foot above its back; often, when a grebe is lazily swimming on the surface, head resting on the back, it will raise and shake a foot above its back. ”

“ Many students of bird life believe that in Norfolk only is this bird common, though, as a matter of fact, this grebe leaves the Broads in winter, whereas in Cheshire, Shropshire, Yorkshire, and perhaps other haunts it is an all-year resident. ”

“ THE CHESHIRE BIRD.
The female is sitting; the male has a newly hatched young bird on his back. The nest on the left is that of a Coot.
much slighter in build than the mallard or common wild duck; in build it is not specially a surface swimmer, but is excellently adapted for rapid progress under water. When a grebe wishes to travel swiftly from one part of the water to another it dives, swimming under water. A bird which feeds on fish must be cigar- or torpedo-shaped in order to capture its swift prey ”

“ When the bird leaves the nest it covers the eggs with a few bits of weed, and in a short time their chalky white surface absorbs the green of the nest and covering so that they become permanently stained with blotches of green and brown. ”

“ The male bird, very early in the season, and occasionally in autumn, pays attentions to his mate or would~be mate, swimming towards her with his long neck and spear-shaped bill stretched out along the water. ”

“ Stretching the long necks upward, and with the heads at right angles, they gently fence with their bills, and vary this by occasional strange head dips, usually simultaneous in the two birds. The necks seem to double under, the back of the heads reaching nearly to, if not actually touching, the wings ”