308 A HANDBOOK OF EUROPEAN BIRDS. 
white spots (fewer with age) ; @rehead and sides of head and 
neck grey; centreof throat ferruginous ; under parts silvery-white ; 
bill and legs black, the latter tinged with green ; inside of toes 
and centres of membranes yellowish ; irides brown. Length 23 
to 25 inches; culmen 2; height of bill at nostrils 0-5 ; wing 11 
fowL1 5; tarsus 2°75. 
Adult (Winter) : Top of head and hind neck slate-grey, 
speckled with white ; rest of upper parts greyish-brown, spotted 
with white; wing and tail-quills brown; entire under parts 
pure white. 
Young in first plumage: Are browner above than adults, 
and the white markings, especially of scapulars and wing- 
coverts, are lengthened and more conspicuous ; sides of head 
and neck mottled with ashy-grey. 
Distribution: Breeds in the Arctic and Sub-arctic regions 
of Europe (including Scotiand), Asia and America, ranging 
southward in winter to the Mediterranean, Black and Caspian 
Seas, Formosa and China, and to Maryland in America. 
Habitat: Closely resembles that of C. glacials. 
Family PODICIPIDIDA. 
Genus PODICEPS. 
GREAT: CRESTED, GRESBE: 
Podiceps cristatus (Lzz.). 
Adult Male (Summer): Above sooty-brown, some of 
back feathers greyish-margined ; chin, cheeks and a streak over 
the eye white ; crown and occipital-tufts greenish-black ; neck-frill 
chestnut, margined behind with black ; across the wings a broad 
white band ; beneath silvery-white, becoming ferruginous upon 
the flanks ; bill dusky, yellowish at base ; legs and feet greenish- 
black, greenish-yellow internally. Length 27 to 22 inches; 
culmen 2; wing 7°25; tarsus 2°2 to 2°5. 
Adult Female: Resembles the male very closely, but 
is somewhat smaller and the occipital-tufts and neck-frill less 
highly developed. 
