the birds of cumberland. 187 



Genus TACHYBAPTES. 



T. Fluviatilis. Little Grebe. 



The Little Grebe is a local resident, breeding 

 sporadically on inland tarns, chiefly in the north 

 of the county, as at Moorthwaite and Cotehill. 

 Mr. Little, who had several pairs under his constant 

 observation during the present summer, remarks 

 that the popular belief that the Little Grebe rarely 

 rises upon the wing is fallacious. On the contrary, 

 at Cotehill, where these birds are quite undisturbed, 

 the nesting Dabchicks frequently fly from one pond 

 to another. The whistling call-note of the male to 

 the nesting female is very musical, and it is pleasant 

 to hear a pair calling to and answering one another 

 in the stillness of a fine summer evening. During 

 the winter months, the Little Grebe is more widely 

 distributed, and more partial to running water than 

 during the breeding season. A nestling in down, 

 obtained early in July, is black above, striped in 

 zebra fashion on the neck with longitudinal bands 

 of grey, and on the back with fawn ; the lower 

 parts are white ; a crimson line passes above each 

 eye, and the crown is tinged with crimson. 



Family ALCID^E. 

 Genus A L C A. 



A. Torda. Razorbill. 



The Razorbill is a resident species, a single 

 colony being established on the cliffs at St. Bees. 



