small ponds at a distance from their usual haunts. The
usual note of the Little Grebe is a somewhat plaintive
low single note, but where many are together in the late
summer I have frequently heard them utter a shrill and
prolonged cry almost amounting to a scream. It has
been stated that this species is capable of running
swiftly, and the authority quoted in 4th edition of
' Yarrell' is so good that I cannot doubt it, but, in the
cases of several of these birds that have been brought to
me uninjured, the only method of progression was an
awkward struggle with wings and legs with the whole of
the breast on the floor; this bird, however, is the only
species of Grebe that I have distinctly observed standing
upright on its feet on land or upon the edge of
the nest.
