248 LOBE-FOOTED BIRDS. 



erts, primarieSj and tail, cinereous ; the last edged like the tertials : 

 legs yellowish : toes bordered with a plain or unscalloped mem- 

 brane." Jlrct. Zool. ii. No. 415. 



GREBES. (PoDicEPs. Lath.) 



In these birds the bill is of moderate dimensions, robust, hard, 

 straight and compressed, conically elongated and acute ; upper man- 

 dible deeply and broadly furrowed each side at base, somewhat 

 curved at tip ; the lower navicular (or boat-shaped.) Nostrils in 

 the furrows, basal, lateral, concave, oblong, pervious, posteriorly half 

 closed by a membrane. Feet turned outward, situated far back ; the 

 tibia almost hidden in the belly ; tarsus much compressed ; anterior 

 toes greatly depressed, connected at base by a membrane forming a 

 broad lobe round each toe, lobe of the middle toe thrice as broad as 

 that of the lateral ; hind toe compressed, articulated internally upon 

 the tarsus, equal in length to a joint of the fore toe : nails wide and 

 flattened. Wings short and narrow, the 3 first primaries nearly 

 equal, and longest. Tail none ; in its place a small tuft of downy 

 feathers. 



The female is similar to the male in plumage ; but the young 

 are very different from the adult, not acquiring their full dress 

 before the second year : the adult is generally distinguished by the 

 presence of a crest and ruff. They moult in spring and autumn, 

 changing then their colors, and periodically losing their ornaments. 

 The plumage is very thick, compact and silky, and beneath glossy. 

 Colors blackish above, and silvery white below. 



The Grebes are eminently aquatic, swimming as well beneath the 

 water as on its surface, and in this submerged progress, besides pad- 

 dling, they seem to use their wings as if proceeding in the air ; they 

 dive for a great lenorth of time, and descend so far as to be some- 

 times caught by accident in the deep sea nets. Indeed they travel, 

 dwell, sleep and migrate on the water ; their facility at diving and 

 moving in this element, is so great as to have bestowed upon them 

 the emphatic appellation of ' Water Witches.' During summer and 

 the breeding season, penetrating far to the north, even into the 

 Arctic circle, they pass the time chiefly in fresh waters, particularly 

 lakes, estuaries, and sluggish streams, but as the inclemency of the 

 season advances, they leave their inland retreats, and seek out the 



