12 HISTORY OF THE 



deep, and on the old, broken-down rushes; they were made of 

 old, decayed rushes, leaves, and debris gathered from the bot- 

 tom; were quite bulky, and piled up until they floated several 

 inches above the water — at least two inches in the center of the 

 nest — and were firmly held in place and hid by the standing, 

 growing rushes, and were about ten rods apart; from this I am 

 led to think that they do not build in comnmnities like their 

 cousins, the Eared Grebes. 



Eggs four to seven, 1.76x1.21, bluish white, but generally 

 more or less stained. A set of six eggs, collected at Ogden, 

 Utah, measure: 1.70x1.21, 1.70x1.22, 1.76x1.22, 1.78x1.22, 

 1.80x1.20, 1.80x1.21; inform, elliptical ovate. 



Colymbus nigricollis californicus (Heekm.). 



AMERICAN EARED GREBE. 

 PLATE I. 



Migratory; rare in eastern Kansas; common, and may occa- 

 sionally breed in western Kansas. Arrive the last of April to 

 middle of May. Return early in September, a few remaining 

 into November. 



,B. 707. R. 733. C. 850. G. 318, 2. U. 4. 



Habitat. Western North America, east to the Mississippi 

 river, north to Great Slave Lake, south into Central America. 

 Abundant from the plains westward; breeding nearly through- 

 out its range. 



Sp. Char. ^'■Adult, breeding plumage: Head, neck and upper parts dull 

 black; on each side of the head, behind the eyes, and occupying the whole of 

 the postocular and auricular regions, a flattened tuft of elongated, narrow, and 

 pointed feathers of an ochraceous color, those of the lower part of the tuft in- 

 clining to rufous or ferruginous, those along the upper edge straw yellow or 

 buff, sometimes, but rarely, forming a rather well-defined streak; fore part of 

 head sometimes inclining to grayish or smoky dusky. Upper parts blackish 

 dusky, the secondaries — sometimes also the inner primaries — mostly or en- 

 tirely white. Lower parts satiny white, the sides mixed chestnut rufous and 

 tlusky. Bill deep black; iris bright carmine, with an inner whitish ring; legs 

 and feet dusky gray externally, greenish gray on the inner side. Winter 

 plumage: Pileum, nape and up])er parts fuliginous slate or plumbeous dusky; 

 malar region, chin and throat white; auricular region white, sometimes tinged 

 with pale grayish buff or light grayish; fore part and sides of neck pale dull 

 grayish; lower parts satiny white, the sides plumbeous dusky. Upper mandi- 

 ble greenish black, growing pale ashy olive green on basal third of the commis- 



