112 WILD ANIMALS OF CiLACIER NATIONAL PARK. 



Horned (»rebe: Cohjmhu.^ auritus. — On a pond iil)Ove the Swiftcur- 



ront Lakes, only a short distance from INIany (ihiciers, JSIr. Steveii- 



S(^n Avas fortnnate enongh to discover the floating nest and eggs of 



tlie spriglitlv little horned grebe, whose reddish neck, pnffy side 



crests, and bright red eyes, almost " perched on 



its bill," as he says, make it a striking, cocky 



figure. Sometimes when diving it gets so Avet 



that all its distinctive plumes are lost sight of 



and only the red neck is left to tell the tale. 



Careful Avatch should be kept of the marshy 



meadoAA's of this fruitful SAviftcnrrent section 



and similar places in the park that other nests 



may be discoA'ered. 



In October, 188T, Dr. George Bird Grinnell 



From Handbook of Western ,. i.i 1*1 li. • j_ 1 T j_ ^1 j.1 Oj 



Birds. L.A. Fuertes. lound thc buxis quitc aDuudant on the ot. 



Fig. 20. — Horned Mary Lakes and the prairie lakes about the head 



^''^'"'' of Milk River.^ A pair Avere also reported in 



June, 1895, b}' Messrs. Vernon Bailey and Arthur H. HoAvell, from 



a pond on the pra^irie near Blackfeet Agency, noAv BroAvning. 



On April 21, 1918, Mr. Bailey saAV dozens of the puffy headed 

 horned grebes, in full breeding plumage, on Lake McDonald, but 

 the next day, Avhen the Avind had come up and the waA^es Avere rolling, 

 only a fcAV Avei'e seen. 



Eared Grebe: Cohpnhus nigricoUis calif omicus. — As this is the 

 grebe most likely to be seen in the park, it is important to knoAv its 

 distinctive characters. Only about half the size of the Avhite-throated 

 Avestern grebe and the red-throated Holboell— or about a foot long — 

 its median, pointed crest, light ear tufts, and dusky neck distinguish 

 it from the puffy-headed, rufous-necked little horned grebe. In man- 

 ner, also, it is quite different from the cocky little horned grebe, Avhich 

 comes up from beJoAv Avith a shake of its feathers, points its bill down, 

 and is gone; for it Avill sit quietly on the Avater looking at you Avith 

 gentle interest for a long time. It has been reported by Mr. "W. S. 

 Gibb as breeding on various park lakes, notable among them Lak'3 

 McDonald, and it has been found by Mr. ^Y. C. Gird, in July and 

 August, on the middle lake of the Swiftcurrent chain not far from 

 the place Avhere Mr.. Stevenson found the nest of the horned grebe 

 and Avhere it was evidently taking advantage of the superior feeding 

 ground offered by the unusually muddy lake bottom. Mr. Gird has 

 also seen it on Glenn and Elizabeth Lakes, in the Belly KiA'er coun- 

 try, and on Waterton- Lake, at the Canadian boundary. It is inter- 

 esting to know that in October, 1887, Dr. Grinnell also found it 

 abundant on the St. Mary Lakes. Wherever it is foun-fl, close at 



1 Some Autumn Birrts of the St. Mary Lakes Region. Forest and Stream. A"ol. XXX, 

 1). SOS, May 31, 1888. 



