246 BIRDS OF EUROPE AND NORTH AFRICA 



PYGOPODES. 



Divers and Grebes. Tail very short ; toes lobed 

 or webbed, outer toe longest, hind toe on higher 

 level than the others ; tarsus strongly compressed 

 sideways, sharp edged in front and behind ; legs 

 set very far back on body. 



PODICIPID^. 



Characters as in genus " Podiceps." 



PODICEPS. 



Plumage soft and silky, tail feathers soft and difficult to 

 tell from surrounding feathers; toes lobed and united at 

 base by web. Divers ; feeding on fish, frogs, insects, etc. ; 

 nest large, of aquatic plants and usually floating among reeds ; 

 eggs white, soon much nest-stained, inner layer of shell green. 



Podiceps cristatus cristatus (L.). Great Crested 

 Grebe. Fr. Grebe huppe ; Ge7\ Grosser Steissfuss ; ItaL Svasso 

 maggiore ; Swed. Skagg-Dopping. 



(^ $ summer. Above dark brown ; carpal coverts, secondaries, 

 and some scapulars as well as underparts white ; crown and 

 occipital tufts black ; lores, supercilium, face, and throat white ; 

 ear coverts and tippet cinnamon merging into black. In winter : 

 above brown, lores white, underparts white. Iris red with inner 

 yellow ring. Bill dark brown, reddish along sides and at base 

 below. Legs and feet greenish externally, greenish yellow on 

 inner side. Wing 168-195. Tarsus 55-63. Bill 40-47. 



Breeds. — British Isles ; Continental Europe from S. Sweden, 

 S. Finland, and Russia south of L. Onega, south to Mediterranean, 

 Black Sea, and Caucasus ; Sicily, Egypt, Algeria, and Morocco ; 

 and widely in Asia. Northern birds migrate, but many winter 

 in Britain. Chief winter quarters are the Mediterranean Basin 

 and S. Asia. 



