THE WINGS. 75 



of the most beautiful of which, and at the same time 

 the most common, called the crested, or eared, or tippet 

 Grebe, from a feathery or- 

 nament like a tippet and 

 ears, weighs two pounds and 

 a half, or nearly forty times 

 the weight of a Swift, and 

 yet its spread of wing is 

 only thirty inches, being six 

 inches less than twice the 

 spread of the Swift's wing. 



Sometimes, by carefully Head of the Crested 

 watching these birds in clear water, opportunities occur 

 of observing their progress beneath the surface, when 

 they may be seen flapping with their short wings, as if 

 flying, thus acquiring a much greater speed than they 

 could by the use of their webbed feet alone. 



There is one bird, however, the Water Crow (Turdus 

 cinctus), in size, shape, and wings very similar to the 

 Blackbird, which also dives ; but as it does not pursue 

 fish, living on spawn, or such sort of food as may be 

 collected without effort, the Diver's form of wing is not 

 necessary, and accordingly the only use of its wing, 

 under water, is, by flapping or jerking it upwards, to 

 prevent its rising; for as, like all other birds, it is much 

 lighter than water, it must of course use some power to 

 keep itself beneath the surface, and this it does by means 

 of its wings. These birds are chiefly found in wild 

 parts of the country, abounding in streams rushing over 

 rocky beds. There they may be seen perched upon a 

 stone on the edge or middle of the water, from whence 

 they wade beyond their depth, and continue their course 

 along the bottom, where they may be observed struggling 

 to preserve a footing, and prevent themselves from rising, 

 by a strange tumbling sort of motion of their bodies-, 

 accompanied by quiverings of their wings, which, acting 

 upon the water above, helps to keep them down. 



Before we proceed to speak of migration, or that iiL- 



