1422 



AM I-:RICAX I' ORES'!' in- 



mucli resemble. They can always be distinguished from tlii-in. The egj^s arc wliitc when first laid but soon be- 



the ducks, however, by their pointed bills, short rounded come discolored. Tlie young grebes, when first hatched, 



win^s, and their apparent lack of tails which arc reprc- are curious little creatures, covered with down of a 



sented by mere tufts of feathers. Their feet, instead of 



being fully webbed as in the ducks and loons, are lobed. 



appearing as though the webbing had been cut between 



the toes. This does not seem to hinder their swimmini; 



or diving for they are fully the equals of tiieir larger 



cousins, diving so deeply and remaining under for sn 



long that they often seem never to come up. Indeed, 



when alarmed, they sometimes come U]) very quietly. 



letting only their bills show above the water and if there 



is a slight rij^ple on the surface they are entirely invisible. 



This has given rise to many stories of mysterious disaji- 



])earances and to such i)opular names as "water witch" 



and "Hell-divers" alreach- mentioned. When diving thev 



head foremost 

 with a flip of 

 their feet or 

 they settle 

 backwards so 

 carefully as to 

 scarcely leave 

 a ripi)le on the 

 surface, ."^uch 

 expert divers 

 are they that 

 they prefer this 

 method of es- 

 cape to flight, 

 especially as it 

 seems to take 

 c o n s i derable 

 effort for them 

 to rise. When 

 they do take 

 fl i gh t . they 

 ordinarily pal- 

 ter along the 

 surf a c c for 

 some distance 

 before they are 

 able to get up enough momentum to lift themselves from 



TliL' pruud niotlur K''fl>t' is 



.\ WATER BABVS FIRST SVVl.M 



winuniiiK up to cncourasc her hravt- littU- 

 tlic nest shortly after hatching. 



Striped black and white ])attern very different from that 

 (if their ]jarents. They are able to swim almost as soon 

 as hatched and follow their i)arents about the pond. 

 When they get tired they climb ujion the backs of their 

 l);irents and in case of alarm, the old birds cover them 

 with their wings and dive from sight, coming up among 

 the reeds where they can easily hide. The ])ied-billed 

 grebes are found in summer from liritish Columbia to 

 Chile and .Vrgentina, thus having one of the most ex- 

 tensive breeding ranges of any bird, and in winter they 

 occur from Maryland southward. 



.\nother common grebe is the horned grebe, so called 

 from the tufts of yellowish feathers that decorate the 



sides of the 

 head d u r i n g 

 t h e breeding 

 season. In ad- 

 dition to these 

 plumes, it has 

 the neck, breast 

 and sides a 

 rich chestnut 

 and the upper 

 parts blackish, 

 so that alto- 

 gether, it is a 

 m u c h hand- 

 s o m e r a n d 

 more striking 

 bird than the 

 ]^ i e d - b i 1 led 

 grebe. In win- 

 t e r ])hnnage, 

 h o w c V e r . it 

 lacks all of 

 these bright 

 colors and is 

 merely gray 

 above and sil- 

 very white bc- 

 f the under jiarts extending on to the 



iinn^isti-r that has strugglt-d from 



nw. the white 



the water. Once on the wing, however, they look a great sides of the head and making it a more conspicuous bird 



deal like ducks because they carry their feet straight out than it would otherwise be. 



behind them and these make up for the absence of tails In its habits it is not strikingly diflferent from its 



which would otherwise be a conspicuous difference. cousin, for it builds a floating nest and cares for its young 



I he commonest species of grebe is the pied-billed grebe, in the same curious way. It is a more northern species 



an inconsijicuous brownish little bird even in its breeding however, nesting from northern United States northward 



plumage. It is found luost often on reed bordered to .'\laska and wintering from the northern states to 



ponds and marshy lakes where it builds its floating nest, Florida. 



anchoring it to the reeds. The nest is but a pile of A third and larger species is the Holboell's grebe, a 



debris and looks like the little platforms that muskrats less common bird than the horned grebe, although it has 



sometimes build to rest on. When the bird leaves the about the same distribution. In winter plumage it is 



nest she always covers her eggs with some of the material similar to the horned grebe but does not have such white 



of the nest, and, as«he is seldom, if ever, surprised on the checks. During the summer it is conspicuously different 



nest, it was once thought that pied-billed grebes did not for the throat and sides of the head are pure white and it 



incubate their eggs as other liirds but dei)end tqion the does not have the ear tufts. .\ somewhat smaller species 



sun and the heat of the decaying vegetation to hatch ( Continued on Page 1424) 



