Ill PODICIPEDIDAE 



5, 



P. tricolor of the Moluccas separable, P. pehelni of Madagascar 

 being hardly so. P. dominicus, extending from the southern 

 United States to Patagonia, differs in its black throat. The 

 Little Grebe breeds commonly in Britain, while P. crtstatiis, the 

 Great Crested Grebe or Loon, only nests on* our largest waters, 

 covering, however, a wide range in Europe, Africa, Asia, Aus- 

 tralia, and jS"ew Zealand. It has a bifurcate crest of brown, a 

 chestnut ruff tipped with black round the cheeks and throat, a 

 red base to the bill and greenish feet. P. griseigena, the Eed- 

 necked Grebe, which wanders to our shores, but breeds in the 

 uortli of the Palaearctic and Nearctic Eegions, and perhaps occa- 

 sionally in Morocco, has the foreneck chestnut, a line above the 

 cheeks white, and the base of the bill yellow. Some writers 

 denominate the North American and East Asiatic form, P. hol- 

 hoelli. P. auritus, the Slavonian Grebe of the sub- Arctic portions 

 of both worlds, has a tuft of golden chestnut feathers on each 

 side of the head, an ample black ruff, rufous chest and flanks, 

 l)lack bill and greenish feet; P. nigricollis, the Eared Grebe, of 

 Central and Southern Europe, Africa, temperate Asia, and 

 western ]S[orth America, has merely golden ear- tufts, with a 

 black chest. Both visit us at certain seasons. Finally, P. 

 nestor inhabits South Australia ; P. rufiiMctus New Zealand ; 

 P. caliparaeus, P. rollandi, and Aechmopliorus major America 

 south of Peru and Brazil ; Ae. occidentalis western North 

 America ; Podilymhus podiceps nearly all the New World : and 

 Centropelmu micropterum Lake Titicaca only. The first two have 

 white hair-like filaments on the head, the third and fourth elon- 

 gated ear-coverts of golden brown or black and white ; while Po- 

 dllgmhus is remarkable for its stout whitish bill with median black 

 l)and and its black throat, Centropelma for its aborted wings and 

 flightless condition. Podicipes taczanowshii, of Lake Jimin in Peru, 

 differs from P. caliparaeus in its longer and lighter bill and feet, 

 und grey-brown ear-coverts. Grebes in the down are streaked 

 with white or buff on a dusky ground, while some have a naked 

 red space on the crown. 



These migratory birds frequent reedy streams and stagnant 

 waters in smnmer, being companionable, though not gregarious ; 

 hard weather, however, drives them to the sea. They walk 

 fiiirly well, though awkwardly, and sit upon the whole meta- 

 tarsus; but the chicks progress on "all fours," using the wings almost 



