DIVING-BIRDS, PETRELS, AND PENGUINS 37 



Of the Fresh-water Divers, or Grebes, two species are figured here, 

 the Great Crested Grebe (Plate II. fig. 2) and the Little Grebe, 

 or Dab-chick (Plate II. fig. 7). The former is a very handsome 

 bird, and at one time was much persecuted for the sake of its breast- 

 feathers, which were made up by milliners into muffs and other 

 ornamental articles of dress. This bird is remarkable for the wonderful 

 frill which surrounds the head. This frill can be raised or depressed 

 at the pleasure of the bird, and is of a rich, dark, chestnut colour, 

 shading at the edges into a very dark brown. In addition, long 

 ** horns," or tufts of feathers, of a rich, dark brown spring from the 

 crown of the head. Both sexes are similarly adorned, but in the 

 males these ornaments are more developed. 



The Dab-chick, or Little Grebe (Plate II. fig. 7), is a much smaller 

 bird, which in summer has the cheeks, throat, and sides of the neck 

 of a rich chestnut, but these colours give place to a silvery white in 

 winter. It ranges over Europe, Africa, and Asia, extending from the 

 Malay countries into North Australia. 



While the Sea Divers have fully webbed feet, the Grebes simply 

 have the toes provided with broad lobes. But both Grebes and 

 Divers are experts at progression under water. So completely have 

 the Sea Divers become modified by this mode of life, that the legs 

 have become shifted to the extreme hinder end of the body ; as a 

 consequence, they cannot walk when on land. The Grebes, however, 

 can do so. 



THE PETRELS, OR TUBE-NOSED BIRDS (Plate IIL). 



The Petrels are strictly sea-birds, and all are peculiar in that the 

 nostrils open, either in the form of a pair of tubes, one on each side 

 of the beak, or into a cave-like cavity on the top of the beak : hence 

 the name, *' tube-nosed " birds. 



Of the many different kinds of Petrels, three species are figured 

 here ; and of these by far the most interesting is the Albatross, which 

 is one of the largest birds that fly. The Black-browed Albatross 

 (Plate III. fig. 8) has occurred in British waters, and hence is reckoned 

 a British bird ; it has also occurred in California, though its real home 

 is in the Southern Oceans. Albatrosses commonly breed in large 

 colonies. In the Island of Laysan, in the Pacific Ocean, thousands 



