Pied-billed Grebe 9 



Description. — Adult — Crown and back of the neck greyish-black, 

 becoming a paler grey on the sides of the head and front of the neck ; 

 a black oval patch on the chin and throat ; rest of the upper-parts and 

 wings dark fuscous-brown ; a little white on the inner webs of the 

 secondaries ; below silvery white, but obsciu-ed on the sides and across 

 the breast by dusky and buffy mottlings ; iris brown and white, bill 

 yellowish, bluish-white in life, encircled by a broad black band, legs 

 blackish. Length 13"0 ; wing 5-5 ; culmen '90 ; tarsus 1*75. 



In winter the bill is dull yellowish and has no black band ; the throat- 

 patch is absent and there are more or less distinct pale edges to the 

 feathers of the ujjper-parts. Young birds are like the adults in winter, 

 but the throat and sides of the head have indistinct brownish streaks. 



Distribution. — Nearly the whole of America, from Saskatchewan 

 to Patagonia, breeding throughout most of its range ; wintering from 

 about New Jersey and the southern United States southwards. 



This Grebe does not appear to be a common bird in Colorado ; 

 generally it is a summer resident but is more abundant on migration. 

 The first breeding record is that of W. G. Smith who found several 

 nests at Loveland, but it probably also breeds at San Luis Lakes as 

 there is a specimen in the Aiken collection from that place, taken on 

 July 1st. It reaches Loveland in spring in the latter half of April, 

 and was seen by Carter on migration at Breckenridge (Cooke). Warren 

 informs me he has noticed it on a small lake near Crested Butte at 

 9,000 feet in October. It is included by Henderson in the Boulder co. 

 list, and is a common breeder at Barr in May and June (Hersey & 

 Rockwell), the letter of whom has recently published some notes and 

 photographs of its nesting habits. I have not heard of it in the south- 

 west or western part of the State, though it probably occurs there. 



Habits. — This, the most familiar of the Grebes in the 

 East, is often known as the Water- witch, Hell-diver 

 or Divedapper ; it does not materially differ from the 

 other Grebes in its habits, nor has anything special been 

 noticed about its occurrence in Colorado. Nests found 

 by Smith in a lake close to Loveland contained six eggs 

 as a rule and were, when first laid, a pale pea-green colour, 

 but soon became stained by the wet weeds with which 

 they were covered. A clutch of six eggs taken by 

 I. C. Hall at Storm's Lake near Greeley on May 25th, 

 1902, and presented by him to the Colorado College 



