DIVING BIRDS Order Pygopodes 

 GREBES Family Colymbidae 

 WESTERN GREBE 



1. ^Echmophorus occidentalis. 25 to 29 inches. 



All grebes have lobate-webbed feet, that is each toe 

 has its individual web, being joined to its fellow only 

 for a short distance at the base. 



This, the largest of our grebes, is frequently known 

 as the "Swan Grebe" because of its extremely long, thin 

 neck. In summer the back of the neck is black, but 

 in winter it is gray like the back. 



Notes. Loud, quavering and cackling. 



Nest. A floating mass of decayed rushes, sometimes 

 attached to upright stalks. The 2 to 5 eggs are pale, 

 bluish white, usually stained (2.40 x 1.55). They 

 breed in colonies. 



Range. Western North America, from the Dakotas 

 and Manitoba to the Pacific, and north to southern 

 Alaska. Winters in the Pacific coast states and 

 Mexico. 



