THE HOLBG:LL GREBE. 
629 
cinnamon-rufous, shading on fore-breast into the silvery white of remaining 
under parts; posterior feathers dusky-tinged; bill bluish dusky, varied by yellow 
on lower mandible; feet and legs black. Adult in winter and commonly: Similar 
but duller and sides of head pure white; the rufous persistent only on sides of 
neck, and paler, the red replaced by ashy-brown or dull whitish; not crested. 
Immature: Similar to adult in winter but duller; without any rufous; under- 
parts grayish white ; neck and breast ashy-fuscous, throat and sides of head lighter, 
but not white; bill lighter; feet and legs mottled with yellow. Length 18.00-20.00 
(457.2-508.) ; wing 7.70 (195.6); bill 1.90 (48.3); tarsus 2.50 (63.5). 
Recognition Marks.—Something under Mallard size; head pattern dis- 
tinctive in breeding plumage; large size distinctive for Ohio at any season. 
Nesting.—Does not breed in Ohio. Nest, a heap of half-submerged or float- 
ing vegetation in pond or reedy lake margin. Eggs, 2-5, dull greenish white; ex- 
cept when fresh, heavily nest-stained. Av. size, 2.25 X 1.35 (57-2 X 34.3). 
General Range.— North America at large including Greenland. Also east- 
ern Siberia and southward to Japan. Breeds in high latitudes, migrating south 
in winter. 
Range in Ohio.—Rare migrant. Found chiefly on Lake Erie and the larger 
reservoirs. 
ALTHO lacking the odd head-ornaments which some of the smaller 
divers boast during the nuptial season, the Holbeell is a handsome fellow, and 
in the spring plumage the flash of the rufous upon the lower neck, in sharp 
contrast with the ashy white of throat and cheeks, is unmistakable. 
Like all other Grebes the young of this species tumble out of the 
shell into the water, and the saturated mass of decaying vegetation which 
for a time held the eggs is never known as home. When the brood is hatched 
the young birds clamber upon the mother’s back, and have a ride quite to 
their liking. Nothing more convenient than this floating palace could have 
been devised, besides being a raft and a diving bell(e), it is fitted up with 
feather-stuffed cushions for repose, and upon it meals are served frequently 
a la Grebe,—since, it is said, the mother can twist ker neck around without 
difficulty and bestow a selected morsel upon whom she will of the expectant 
brood. 
The adult bird customarily prepares for diving by first giving a little 
upward spring, and then turning suddenly with the body almost clear of the 
water to shoot down head foremost. It is however, quite as able as others 
of the family to flash out of sight without the spring-board motion, or else 
to fade away after the manner of the polite Frenchman. Last fall upon 
the Licking Reservoir, as I was lying in wait off shore for ducks, I was 
approached by what I took to be a bird of this species. Really desirous of 
securing the specimen I shot at fair range, using an extra rapid smokeless 
powder. The fellow was possessed,—not only by spirits, but by an inexhaust- 
able fund of good nature, for each time I shot he vanished, I know not how, 
only to reappear instantly, unscathed and smiling, to paddle a little nearer. 
