GREAT CRESTED GREBE. 307 



Order PODICIPIDIFORMES. 



Family PODICIPID^. Grebes. 



Slender diving birds ; bill straight ; legs posterior, no visible 

 tail ; toes lobed ; tarsi flat, capable of rotation. 



Great Crested Grebe. Podiceps cristatus (Linn.). 



Few once persecuted birds have made more rapid recovery 

 than the Great Crested Grebe (Plate 132) ; it was at one time 

 slaughtered for its satin breast — "grebe-fur" — and was almost 

 exterminated, but it has not merely greatly increased in its old 

 haunts, but has extended its range, and now nests in all 

 suitable localities in England and Wales, and in many parts of 

 Scotland and Ireland. It occurs throughout southern and 

 central Europe and central Asia, and in winter in northern 

 Africa. Nowhere is the bird more common than on the 

 Cheshire and Shropshire meres, though the Broads are usually 

 said to be its great stronghold. Cheshire is not a recently 

 colonised area, but an ancient centre of distribution. In autumn 

 there is a movement of migrants along our coasts, and many 

 places, including the Broads, are deserted in early winter. But 

 unless the Cheshire meres are frozen some birds remain. 

 Early in January the numbers present are often large ; I have 

 seen between forty and fifty on one pool on January ist. 

 Passage birds in small flocks appear as late as May, when the 

 residents are nesting. 



At any season this bird, known in various parts as the 

 " Diver," "Loon," or " Gaunt," is distinct ; the erectile "ear- 

 tufts " and frill of summer have no counterpart, and in winter 

 its slender build and large size prevent confusion with other 

 grebes. It swims low in the water, often with the lower neck 



