Little Grebe
Little Grebe

In MANO-RIVER, Shiga, May 16, 1997.

When I was a chile, my father taught me a characteristic of this bird "They will get into water if you point your finger at them." Do they think a gun is aimed at them? Interested in such action of them, I did so many times, and last took pity on them. Although they are small birds less than 30 cm long, they swim putting their chicks on their back in the breeding season May. The above photo was taken in the MANO-RIVER recently. "Keep Company with Wild Birds" by SHINJI TAKANO, ASAHIBUNKO, 1989, says "A chick hatching out has a funny face with a striped pattern. Though he can swim by himself, he rides on his parent, and such a sight makes us smile." It was the sight I saw. Four chicks rode on the back of a parent bird. Small as it was, the parent bird was great. When the parent bird made chicks ride on the back, he (or she) lifts his (or her) wings. They seem to leave it to chicks' discretion whether they ride or not. The chicks get into the back of their parent bird from its tail end, and appear on the back or shoulder unexpectedly.
BIWA-LAKE in my prefecture SHIGA has another name "LAKE of NIO". The word "NIO" is an old name of Little Grebe.

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