8 



BIRDS OF AMERICA 



band a little forward of the center ; feet, greenish- 

 dusky outside, leaden-gray inside ; iris, brown ; eyelids, 

 whitish. Adults in Winter: General coloration on 

 head and upper parts more brownish than in summer ; 

 the feathers of back with paler edges ; neck, breast, 

 and sides, light brown mottled with dusky ; under parts, 

 pure silky white ; lower abdomen, grayish. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest: A floating structure of dead 



grass, reeds, mud, and vegetable matter, unattached or 

 fastened to living rushes. Eggs : 6 to 9. white, some- 

 times tinged with greenish. 



Distribution. — North and South America ; breeds 

 from ISritish Columbia, southern Mackenzie, southern 

 Keewatin, Quebec, and New Brunswick southward to 

 Chile and Argentina; winters from Washington, Texas, 

 Mississippi, and the Potomac valley southward. 



The Pied-billed Grebe is the most widely dis- appointed Hawk has gone his way. As a diver 



tributed of the American Grebes and in the it has few equals in the bird world. Many 



United States is the only one that breeds over times, especially in the days when muzzle-loading 



most of the region east of the Mississip]i!. It shotguns were still in vogue, I have seen it 



Drawing by R. I. Braslier 



PIED-BILLED GREBE (J nat. size) 

 A more accomplished swimmer than any Duck 



is at home in the water to an astonishing degree, 

 in fact " Water-witch " is one of the favorite 

 local names by which it is known. It is a more 

 accomplished swimmer than any Duck of which 

 I have knowledge, for it possesses the wonderful 

 faculty of lowering its body in the water to any 

 desired stage of submersion, and this it can do 

 either while swimming or while remaining sta- 

 tionary, as may suit its fancy. At times only the 

 bill and eyes will appear above the surface, and in 

 this attitude it can remain apparently without 

 distress until the bewildered hunter or the dis- 



dive at the flash of discharge and be safely be- 

 neath the surface before the death-seeking shot 

 came over the water. " Hell-diver," by the way, 

 is another name applied to Grebes as well as to 

 Loons. 



The remarkable nest made by this species is 

 quite in keeping with its other unusual and se- 

 cretive characteristics. It is made of decaying 

 vegetation brought up from the bottom of the 

 shallow pond where it breeds. This unattractive 

 mass is usually piled on a platform of green 

 stems of water plants, which, because of their 



