— Ill — 



Length about 16 inches. Head, neck, rump, tail and entire 

 underparts white ; mantle pale slate grey. Wing coverts like 

 the back, but the quills are marked with brown, black and white. 



In winter the head is clouded with pale grey, and young 

 birds are marked with black on the shoulders and neck. 



427. Richardson's Skua. Stercorarius parasiticus (Linnaeus). 

 Not mentioned by Shelley. 



Sometimes visits the coasts during migration. 



Length about 20 inches. Subject to considerable variation 

 in colour ; some are entirely sooty brown, others have white 

 underparts. Adults have the feathers of the neck tinged with 

 yellow. Young birds, while being sooty above and having 

 lighter edges to the feathers, are sometimes white below and 

 often white barred with brown. 



PYGOPODES. 



428. Great Crested Grebe. Podiceps cristatus (Linnaeus). 



Podiceps cristatus. Shelley, p. 312. 



Resident in small numbers. 



Length about 21 inches. Entire upper parts dark brown ; 

 lower parts white. A tuft on each side of the head, and a frill 

 round neck brown and white in late winter ; chestnut and 

 black in summer ; a white bar on the wings. 



429. Red-necked Grebe. Podiceps griseigena Boddaert. 



Podiceps griseigena. Shelley, p. 313. 



Included by Shelley on Von Heuglin's authority. 



Length about 17 inches. Top and tuft on head black, 

 as is also the forehead and round eye ; chin, cheeks, throat and 

 ear coverts chestnut, a grey and white line separating them 

 from the black of the head. Rest of upper parts dark brown ; 

 lower parts and wing bar white. In winter the throat is greyish 

 white. Young birds resemble adults in winter, but are duller 

 in colouration. 



430. Black-necked Grebe. Podiceps nigricollis C. L. Brehm* 



Podiceps nigricollis. Shelley, p. 313. 



Numbers visit the lakes in Lower Egypt during winter, and 

 those remaining until February are often in nearly full breeding 

 plumage. 



