6 GREBES 



longer time, you wonder what they are finding. If you shoot one, 

 a few tiny bones of minnows in its stomach mixed with tlie usual 

 ball of feathers from its own breast tell part of the story and ex- 

 plain its mermaid habits, slender head, long neck, and spear-like 

 bill. 



But to get to the heart of the grebe's home you should wade out 

 where the tules stand up to their necks in water. Here in the damp, 

 saucer-shaped top of a floating island of tule stems, you find the 

 eggs, warm and hastily covered with material from the sides of the 

 nest. There is no bird in sight, but the large size of both nest and 

 eggs serve to distinguish them from those of the smaller grebes. If 

 you keep still for a little while a slender head and long neck may 

 come up out of the water near you and a pair of keen eyes watch 

 you anxiously for a moment, then quickly sink below again, to come 

 up a little later on the other side. 



The grebes are rarely seen except on the water, but when, after 

 much kicking and spattering, they are fairly launched on the wing, 

 they have a steady rapid flight, and in migration make long jour- 

 neys. Veekon Bailey. 



GENUS COLYMBUS. 



General Characters. — Bill straight and sharp, never four times as long 

 as its depth at base ; neck not nearly as long as body ; head sometimes 

 crested. 



KEY TO SPECIES. 



1. Size large, bill over 1.50 holboellii, p. 6. 



1'. Size small or medium. 



2. Small, bill .82 brachypterus, p. 8. 



2'. Medium, bill about 1.00. 



3. Bill deeper than wide at base ; head of adult in breeding plumage 



heavily crested auritus, p. 7. 



3'. Bill wider than deep at base ; head of adult in breeding plumage 

 lightly crested californicus, p. 7. 



Subgenus Colymbus. 



2. Colymbus holboellii (Reinh.). Holbcell Grebe. 



Bill nearly as long as head ; crests inconspicuous or wanting. Breeding 

 plumage : top of head greenish black ; back blackish, with brown on wings ; 

 sides of head and throat patch white or grayish ; neck rufous ; lower 

 parts washed with white over gray. Whiter plumage and young : neck 

 gray instead of rufous. Length : 18.00-20.50, wing 7.30-8.10, bill 1.65- 

 2.40. 



Distribution. — North America, Greenland, and eastern Asia, breeding 

 north of the United States, migrating south to South Carolina, southern 

 Colorado, and Monterey Bay, California. 



Nest. — Made of reeds, grass, and mud, attached to growing reeds or 

 masses of dead vegetable matter. Eggs : 4 to 5. 



