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THE AMERICAN EARED GREBE. 



(Colymbus nigricollis californicus.) 



The American Eared Grebe belongs to 

 the order of Diving Birds (Podicipedes) 

 and the family of Grebes (Podicipidae). 

 The order also includes the loons and 

 auks, having in all about thirty-six spe- 

 cies that frequent North America. Close- 

 ly related to the loons, the Grebes differ 

 from them in having the head incom- 

 pletely feathered near the nostrils, which 

 are not lobed. The feet also are not com- 

 pletely webbed, as are those of the loons. 



Owing to the inadequately developed 

 wings, the Grebes are poorly provided 

 with means for protracted flight. Loco- 

 motion on land is equally difBcult, due to 

 their short legs and the fact that they 

 are inserted far back on the body, neces- 

 sitating a partially erect position in walk- 

 ing. However, they are expert swim- 

 mers and divers and will, when alarmed, 

 sink quietly back into the water, swim- 

 ming long distances with only the bill 

 above the surface of the water. The pop- 

 ular name "Hell-diver," by which these 

 birds are frequently known, has reference 

 to the rapidity with which they dive. 



The apparent lack of a tail and the 

 ruffs, frequently composed of variously 

 colored feathers, give the grebes a pecu- 

 liarly characteristic appearance. The 

 plumage of the breeding season difTers 

 greatly from that of the adult in winter 

 and that of the young. 



The grebes are abundant throughout 

 the world,, seemingly preferring lakes 

 and rivers as a foraging ground rather 

 than the seacoast. 



The American Eared Grebe has an ex- 

 tensive range, including that part of 

 North America west of the Mississippi 

 Valley and from the Great Slave Lake 

 south to Guatemala. It breeds in nearly 

 all parts of this territory. 



A few years since Professor Henshaw 

 published in the American Naturalist 

 some very interesting facts concerning 

 the nesting habits of this bird, and they 

 especially well illustrate some of its 

 characteristics. He says, "In a series of 

 alkali lakes, about thirty miles northward 

 of Fort Garland, Southern Colorado, I 



found this species common and breed- 

 ing. A colony of perhaps a dozen pairs 

 had established themselves in a small 

 pond four or five acres in extent. In the 

 middle of this, in a bed of reeds, were 

 found upwards of a dozen nests. These 

 in each case merely consisted .of a slight- 

 ly hollowed pile of decaying weeds and 

 rushes, four or five inches in diameter, 

 and scarcely raised above the surface of 

 the water upon which they floated. In a 

 number of instances they were but a few 

 feet distant from the nests of the coot 

 (Fulica Americana) which abounded. 

 Every Grebe's nest discovered contained 

 three eggs, which in most instances were 

 fresh, but in some nests were consider- 

 ably advanced. These vary but little in 

 shape, are considerably elongated, one 

 end being slightly more pointed than the 

 other. The color is a faint yellowish or 

 bluish white, usually much stained from 

 contact with the nest. The texture is gen- 

 erally quite smooth, in some instances 

 roughened by a chalky deposit. The eggs 

 were wholly concealed from view by a 

 pile of weeds and other vegetable ma- 

 terial laid across. That they were thus 

 carefully covered merely for concealment 

 I cannot think, since, in the isolated posi- 

 tion in which the nests are usually found, 

 the bird has no enemy against which such 

 precaution would avail. On first ap- 

 proaching the locality, the Grebes all con- 

 gregated at the further end of the pond, 

 and shortly betook themselves through 

 an opening to the neighboring slough ; 

 nor, so far as I could ascertain, did they 

 again approach the nests during my stay 

 of three days. Is it not, then, possible 

 that thev are more or less dependent for 

 the hatching of their eggs upon artifi- 

 cial heat induced by the decaying vege- 

 table substances of which the nests are 

 wholly composed? 



The food of the Grebe consists of fish 

 to a great extent, which are dexterously 

 caught while swimming under water. 

 They also feed upon the insects floating 

 upon the surface, and will, when other 

 food is lacking, feed upon mollusks. 



