WATER BIRDS. 37 



by Mr. E. S. Currier (Auk, Vol. XXI, pp. 31-32), the nests were on muskrat 

 liouses in deep water. Sets of 4, 5 and 7 eggs were found on June 10. 



Its food doubtless consists, like that of all other members of the family, 

 entirely of aquatic animals, mainly fish. The name "Red-necked Grebe" 

 is not particularly appropriate to the bird as we see it, since the red neck 

 belongs to the breeding season and specimens taken within our limits 

 rarely show more than traces of the red throat. 



There is no unciuestionable record of the Western Grelie, A^]chmophorus 

 occidentalis, in Michigan. See Appendix. 



TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION. 



Adult in breeding phuiiage has top of head, back of neck and most of back black, deepest 

 on head, duller on back. Sides of head, upper throat and belly, pure white. Front and 

 sides of neck reddish brown (rufous). In winter the adult is brownish black above, white 

 or grayish white below, and the red neck is paler and duller. Young birds are similar but 

 have no reddish brown on the neck. Iris red. Sexes alike. Length 18 to 20 inches; 

 wing, 7.25 to 8; culmen, 1.G5 to 2.40. 



2. Horned Grebe. Colymbus auritus Linn. (3) 



Synonyms: Hell-diver, Water-witch. — Colymbus auritus, Linn., 1758, and of most 

 authors. 



One of the two small Hell-Divers which are common on our lakes and 

 streams, and recognizable ordinarily by its slender, pointed, uniformly 

 dark bill. 



Distribution. — ^Northern Hemisphere. Breeds from the northern United 

 States northward. 



In Michigan the bird is universally distributed during spring and fall, 

 and not infrequently spends the winter if suitable open water can be found. 

 The question of its nesting within our limits apparently remains to be 

 settled. It is by no means improbable that it nests in small numbers in 

 the northern part of the state, but there is no unquestionable record. The 

 older lists state positively that the species nested in abundance at St. Clair 

 Flats and along the Detroit River, but no exact records are given and in 

 recent years careful search has failed to show any nesting birds in those 

 regions. Mcllwraith states that it breeds "in all suitable places throughout 

 Ontario, notably at St. Clair Flats." (Birds of Ontario p. 27), This, 

 however, does not accord with recent experience and Mr. Wm. Saunders 

 of Toronto states in a recent letter to Mr. B. H. Swales that he finds no 

 evidence that the species has ever bred at St. Clair Flats. Undoubtedly 

 single specimens of this bird occur in different parts of the state during 

 summer, but these in all probability are barren birds or "pensioners," 

 that is, birds wounded or partially disabled during the shooting season 

 and not able to go north with the rest of their kind. It is not impossible 

 that such individuals sometimes mate and nest, but such instances must 

 i)c few. We saw a single adult on a small stream, the Sucker, at Grand 

 Mai-ais, Alger county, Michigan, on the south shore of Lake Superior, July 

 8, 1903, and the bird might well nest in that region if anywhere in the 

 state. It reappears in numbers very early in autumn, by mid-August at 

 least, and remains on the Detroit River at least through the first week in 

 .May. It is known to nest al)undantly in the Hudson Bay region, as well 

 as in northern iMinnesota, North Dakota and Manitoba. It builds a 

 somewhat bulky nest of more or less decomposed vegetable matter, grasses, 



