BIRDS OF AMERICA 



which is anchored. Around the edges of one of 

 these islands, which was two acres in extent, we 

 found between forty and fifty nests. The usual 

 number of eggs was four or five. 



On several occasions, we watched a Grebe 

 chick cut his way out of the shell and liberate 

 himself. After he gets his bill through in one 

 place, he goes at the task like clockwork. He 

 turns himself a little and begins hammering in 

 a new place and keeps this up until he has made 

 a complete revolution in his shell. The end or 

 cap of the egg, cut clear around, drops ofif, and 

 the youngster kicks himself out into the sunshine. 

 It doesn't take his coat long to dry. 



The Grebe parents have an interesting way of 

 taking their young with them. The chicks ride 

 on the back of the mother or father just under 

 the wing-coverts with the head sticking out. 

 Sometimes one may see an old Grebe carrying 

 two or three young on his back. At the slightest 

 alarm, the old bird raises the feathers and covers 

 the chicks completely. One can readily tell when 

 a Grebe has chicks on his back, even if not 

 visible, because he ajipears to swim higher in 

 the water. Normally, the body is almost sub- 

 merged. An old Grebe not only swims, but dives 

 readily, keeping the young in place on his back. 



William L. Finley. 



HOLBCELL'S GREBE 



Colymbus holboelli { Rciiihardf) 



A. O. U. Xumher 2 See t'olor 1'l.Tte I 



Other Names. — .\merican Red-necked Grche; Red- 

 necked drebe; Hcdhpell's Diver. 



General Description. — Length, 19 inches. In Si'm- 

 mer: Glossy greenish-black above, and silvery-white 

 below. In Wi.nter: Grayish-brown above, and gray- 

 ish-white below. Neck shorter than body ; bill, nearly 

 as long as head ; crest lacking or inconspicuous. Largest 

 of the Grebes. 



Color. — .•\dults in Summer: Crozvn, back of urck, 

 and nf>pcr t^arts, glossy cjrccnish-black. darker on head, 

 more brownish on back where the feathers are edged 

 with grayish ; wing-coverts and primaries, dusky-brown ; 

 secondaries, white with brown tips and black shafts; 

 a broad area including chin, throat, and sides of head, 

 sik'cry-gray, lightening along juncture with black of 

 crown ; rest of neck and upper part of breast, deep 

 brownish-rufous; under parts, silvery-white shaded 

 along sides with pale ash. each feather with a dark 

 shaft line and terminal spot, producing a dappled effect; 



bill, dusky, yellow below and at base ; iris, carmine with 

 a white ring. .A.DULTS in Winter, .\nd Young: Crown, 

 neck all around, and upper parts, grayish-brown, the 

 feathers of back with lighter edges ; sides of head and 

 throat, whitisli ; under parts, grayish-white, the mottling 

 of summer plumage obsolete; bill, obscured but showing 

 some pale yellow below ; iris, as in summer. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest: .Attached to live rushes; 

 constructed of reeds, decayed vegetable matter, grass, 

 and mud. Ecgs : 3 to 5, dull white, usually soiled with 

 brownish. 



Distribution. — North America at large, eastern 

 .Siberia, and southwest to Japan ; breeds from north- 

 western Alaska across British America to northern 

 Ungava, south to northern Washington, Montana, and 

 southwestern Minnesota; common throughout the 

 United States in winter; south to southern California, 

 southern Colorado, the Ohio valley and North Carolina ; 

 casual in Georgia and Greenland. 



-Some Grebes colonize in breeding, as do the 

 Western and Eared Grebes. In Holboell's Grebe, 

 however, we have the one large species of North 

 America which is distinctly a lover of personal 

 solitude. Its breeding grounds, or perhaps more 

 properly waters, are the sloughs and marshes of 

 the northwest States and Canadian provinces. 

 Here, in the deep bogs, it places its soggy semi- 

 floating pile of decaying vegetation amid the areas 

 of reeds or canes growing from the water. One 

 can seldom see the brooding bird on the nest. 

 On being approached she hastily pulls debris 



over the three or four dirty-white eggs, com- 

 pletely covering them, then slips into the water 

 and dives, showing herself no more until the in- 

 truder has surely vanished. 



During the breeding season these Grebes are 

 very noisy. The male (probably it is he) swims 

 into the open water of the lakes, if such there be, 

 and emits the most astonishing succession of 

 yells and waitings, which probably are the happy 

 expression of the torrent of his tender emotions, 

 though to our ears they may rather resemble cries 

 of distress. Later in the season he gets bravely 



