The eggs of this set were taken. They were of course in various stages of incubation, from fresh in the last, to well begun in the first-laid egg. For some time after I had left the empty nest, taking the camera with me, the two Grebes swam to and fro beside it, or circled around it, frequently going to the nest and climbing part way up. Occasionally one of the birds, presumably the female, sat upon the nest for a brief period, shifting herself in a restless manner, and then returned to the water.
For several days I stayed away. Would these birds nest again in this small and rapidly diminishing slough at so late a season? Would they leave the slough and go elsewhere to nest? Or would they abandon the duty of reproduction altogether? These questions seemed of sufficient interest to demand further observations, but not wishing to further inject the factor of the human menace into their already complicated affairs, I left the birds entirely to themselves. Meanwhile extremely dry warm weather was causing rapid evaporation and the slough was shrinking very perceptibly.
My next visit, on the eighteenth of June, disclosed the fact that the Grebes were not only present but were building a new nest not far from the old one. The nest seemed nearly completed. The two birds were floating near each other on the open water, preening their plumage in the ostentatious manner previously described.
At seven-thirty on the morning of June 21, the new nest contained two eggs, partially covered, especially on the northwest side, which was the direction from which I approached the slough. There was a striking difference in the coloring of the two eggs, in view of the slight difference in their ages. One egg was a drab-tinted cream; the other a beautiful greenish tint with a freshness and delicacy which is difficult to describe, and which marked it as having just been deposited by the bird. A schedule of the subsequent visits to this nest is given in the accompanying table:
| Visit | Date | Time of | # of | Were eggs | Was either | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | day | eggs | covered? | bird seen? | ||
| 1 | June, | 18 | 0 | Both on open water | ||
| 2 | " | 21 | 7:30 A.M | 2 | Partially covered | |
| 3 | " | 22 | 8:00 A.M. | 2 | Sparsely covered | |
| 4 | " | 23 | 7:30 A.M. | 3 | Not seen | |
| 5 | " | 24 | 9:00 A.M. | 4 | Covered | Bird seen on nest |
| 6 | " | 25 | 7:30 A.M. | 4 | Lightly covered | Not seen |
| 7 | " | 25 | Sunset | 4 | Covered on E. side | Not seen |
| 8 | " | 26 | 7:30 A.M. | 5 | Covered | One on open water |
| 9 | " | 27 | 7:00 A.M. | 5 | Not covered | Saw bird leave nest |
| 10 | " | 28 | 7:30 A.M. | 5 | Chiefly on E. side | Not seen |
| 11 | " | 29 | Evening | 5 | Covered | Not seen |
| 12 | July, | 4 | 5 | Covered on top | Not seen | |
| 13 | " | 8 | 5 | Covered | Yes; in water-lane | |
| 14 | " | 9 | 5 | Covered | Not seen | |
| 15 | " | 10 | 8:00 P.M. | 5 | Not covered | One bird seen |
| 16 | " | 11 | 6:00 P.M. | 5 | Not covered | Not seen |
| 17 | " | 12 | 5:00 P.M. | 5 | Partially covered | One on open water |
| 18 | " | 13 | 6:00 P.M. | 4 | Not covered | Not seen |
| 19 | " | 14 | 4 | Lightly covered | Not seen | |
| 20 | " | 15 | Evening | 3 | Bird on nest | |
| 21 | " | 16 | 10:00 A.M. | 3 | Not covered | Not seen |
| 22 | " | 17 | 10:00 A.M. | 3 | Not covered | One seen with young |
| 23 | " | 18 | 7:30 P.M. | 2 | Not covered | Not seen |
| 24 | " | 20 | 6:00 A.M. | 2 | Not covered | Not seen |
| 25 | " | 22 | 7:30 P.M. | 2 | Not covered | Not seen |
| 26 | " | 23 | 9:00 A.M. | 2 | Not covered | Not seen |
| 27 | " | 24 | Evening | 2 | Not covered | Not seen |
Plate IX.
1.
A Pair of Horned Grebes at Home. Female at Right.