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The Penguin-Dance of the Great Crested Grebe

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The Penguin-Dance of the Great Crested Grebe NOTES The Penguin-dance of the Great Crested Grebe.—The Editors have asked me to comment briefly on the remarkable photograph of the Penguin-dance of the Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus) published in this issue (plate 48). Comparatively few observers have been fortunate enough to "witness this elaborate form of courtship which has rarely been photographed, being the least often performed of this species' four main ceremonies (first described fully and named by J. S. Huxley in Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1914, pp. 491-562). As in the far more common Head- shaking, the male and female grebe play identical r61es in the Penguin-dance, whereas in the Discovery and the "Display" ceremonies the rdles are different though interchangeable. Penguin-dancing usually occurs in the vicinity of the nest-site, within the territory of the pair, and is almost invariably preceded and followed by a long bout of intense Head-shaking in which Habit-preening is absent. The two birds dive and, while submerged, collect a bill-full of ribbony water-weed. On emergence, they swim towards each other with their tippets fully spread and, when quite close, both rear up out of the water simultaneously. They then meet breast to breast with only the very end of the body in the water, feet splashing to keep up, as shown in the photograph. As they sway together thus for a few seconds, they waggle their heads, gradually dropping the weed. After the normal Head-shaking which follows, the pair sometimes swim to the nest-platform where soliciting and copulation may occur. Penguin-dancing has quite a restricted "life" in the reproduc­ tive-cycle, unlike the other ceremonies, being more or less con­ fined to the stage before egg-laying. My work has shown, however, that none of the ceremonies last throughout the cycle as has often been implied by writers on bird-courtship. Three (the Discovery, "Display" and Penguin-dance Ceremonies) cease entirely when incubation begins, even Head-shaking being comparatively rare and of low intensity after egg-laying. Unlike the others, the Penguin-dance seems never to be performed by birds actually in the process of pairing-up, though there is evidence that grebes paired together for the very first season are far more continued.... 269 270 BRITISH BIRDS [VOL. L likely to go through this ceremony, once established at a nest-site, than old pairs. There are records of Penguin-dancing in other species of grebe, including the Black-necked Grebe (P. nigricollis), Slavonian Grebe (P. auritus), Red-necked Grebe (P. griseigena) and Western Grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis). (A project has been started by W. N. Charles, assisted by the writer, to photograph all the displays of the Great Crested Grebe. So far, series have been taken of activities at the nest-site and of Head-shaking and threat. There is one photograph of the Penguin- dance at the stage just before the clash together.) K. E. L. SIMMONS Collared Dove in Surrey.—On 15th April 1956, at Gomshall, Surrey, I found a dove with a dark half-collar; and subsequently, on the 29th, I identified it as a Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) by means of the darker primaries compared with the general coloration of the back. Later visits to the area were paid in the company of Dr. W. Rees-Thomas and family, and Mr. P. Holness; the bird, which was considered from its behaviour to be a male, was then seen at much closer range and also heard calling. Mr. D. Freshwater observed it as well, on another occasion. Initially, I found field-identification difficult because of the effects of shadows cast by twigs, and it was necessary to see the bird side-on in a good light in order to distinguish the primaries. When I obtained an extremely good view with a telescope at a range of some 20 feet, I could see that the edges of the primaries were abraded, so that the true colour was not always clear. There was no doubt that they were darker than the general coloration of the rest of the wings and the back, although I would not describe this feature as conspicuous. The pinkish tinge to the breast was also visible when the bird was close at hand, but was not obvious in a normal view, particularly against the sky. The bird had struck me as differing from the domesticated Barbary Dove (S. risoria), not only on these features, but also on first impression because of the greyer colour of its back, an impression that was strengthened during later visits. The eyes looked dark and even through a telescope I could not observe the red colour referred to in the Field-Guide. Dr. Rees-Thomas, however, caught a glint of red when a ray of sunlight momentarily fell on one of the eyes. The bill was dark, and the legs were pink and unadorned with any form of ring. The typical call of the species, "coo-coooo-cuk", with the accent on the second syllable, was unmistakable, although occasionally the hard "c" of the coo was softened to a guttural "chroo-chrooo-cuk". A flight-call consisting of a sort of low- pitched shriek (my rendering was "hurrrr") was also heard. The bird paid regular visits to feed in a chicken-run in the VOL. L] NOTES 271 garden of a local house, and Mr. V. H. Lacey, the occupant, stated that the bird had been observed there since 6th April. Dr. Rees-Thomas took advantage of this feeding-habit to obtain a colour photograph by using one of the hen-coops as a hide. The bird was last observed on 13th May by which time it had taken territorial possession of an elm, was in full s.ong and disputed the right of other species—Mistle Thrush (Turdus viscivorus), for example—to use the tree. The aggressive display consisted of inflating the crop, lowering and spreading the tail, and calling loudly when approaching the intruder. G. H. FORSTER [There can be no reasonable doubt now that the Collared Dove has reached this country as a wild immigrant from the Continent (see pp. 239-246), but as some of this species were imported by at least two dealers in the early 1950's, though not apparently since 1952 {anted, vol. xlvi, p. 55; and vol. xlix, pp. 345-346), there must remain a possibility that isolated occurrences like that described above refer to captive birds that have escaped. It should be added that Dr. Rees-Thomas's photograph mentioned in Mr. Forster's note clearly supports this bird's identification as decaocto.—EDS.] Return of Great Grey Shrike to winter territory.— For four consecutive winters (1953-56) a Great Grey Shrike (Lanius excubitor) occupied a territory in a little valley and the surround­ ing bushy waste ground near Northwich, Cheshire, where it was seen by many observers. This species is not often seen in the county and had never previously been recorded within a number of miles of this spot. The fact that it was to be seen in the same area and often on precisely the same twigs each winter made it increasingly probable that it was the same bird each time. It was first noted on 17th January 1953 by Bruce Campbell, W. B. Alexander and myself, but had probably been there for some time before that. It was seen regularly, often on the same bush, until 20th April 1953, always within 500 yards of its central roosting-places in low bushes and generally within 100 yards of its favourite perch. It was first recorded in the next winter by W. Dutton on 6th December 1953, and from then frequently until 18th April 1954. As in the spring of 1953, it was far more settled in the last 3 weeks of its stay than in the previous 3 months, and remained in almost the same spot day after day until it disappeared. In the winter of 1954/55 li was first seen, again by W. Dutton, on 1 st December 1954. It wandered rather more during this winter, and once I watched it fly for exactly three-quarters of a mile direct to a disused rubbish-dump at the edge of the town, where I found it perching on an elder-branch. I saw it last on 9th April 1955, but I then went abroad and cannot give the final date of its stay. 272 BRITISH BIRDS [VOL. L On 6th November 1955 (its fourth winter) E. Liddle and I saw it again and from then at intervals until 19th April 1956. During this winter it was more unsettled than in other years, owing to the presence of workmen in the area it haunted. It is noteworthy that in three of these four winters it was last seen on 20th, 18th and 19th April. Diligent search has failed to find it in the past winter (1956/57). Habits. Its regular practice was to drop from its perch into the long grass and dead weeds that cover this rough, largely derelict ground, and to disappear completely from view, often for a long time. Evidently it ate its prey on the ground, for it rarely came to a perch to eat it. On 19th April 1953 it did return to a perch with what looked like a beetle. On 1st April 1954 I watched it hover at about 10 feet from the ground, catch a large insect, perch on a sapling and slowly eat its capture, continually moving its mandibles until the insect had gone. A Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) remained quite undisturbed within 2 or 3 feet of it all the time.
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