777^ RED-NECKED GREBE. 179 



Streams and ponds, sometimes in flocks of hundreds along 

 the margin of Lake Ontario, or on other large bodies of 

 water. In their autumnal appearance there is something 

 particularly chaste and elegant, and finely in harmony with 

 the cold, gray surf in which they are so sprightly and 

 active. 



THE CRESTED GREBE. 



The Crested Grebe {Podiceps cristatus) is common in North 

 America, especially in the more northern parts of the conti- 

 nent, and is also abundant in Western Europe. It is much 

 larger than either of those above described, being some 

 24.00 long and about 33.00 in extent. The ruff on the 

 male of this species is very large, and the crest, looking very 

 much like two horns, is very conspicuous. The crown, 

 crest and terminal part of the ruff is glossy black; base of 

 the ruff bright reddish-brown; fulvous over the eye; cheeks 

 and throat silky white; back of the neck and upper parts, 

 generally, dark brown, the feathers edged with light-brown 

 or gray; sides of the body reddish, streaked with dusky; 

 fore-neck, and under parts, pure silky white. In this bright 

 spring plumage, the male, with his long, slender, graceful 

 neck, is a truly beautiful object on the water. In the 

 autumn the crest and the ruffs are absent, and the head and 

 neck are of the same continuous plain color. This species 

 breeds to the north, and is said to construct the same bulky, 

 floating nest, tied to the reeds and rushes, as the rest of the 

 family; and to have eggs similar, only correspondingly 

 larger. 



THE RED-NECKED GREBE. 



The Red-necked Grebe {Podiceps griseigena var. holbolli) 

 is also found in North America. It is quite a little less in 

 length than the former, being only 19 inches, but it is more 

 bulky, and its bill and tarsi are much shorter. The adult 



