PODILYMBUS PODICIPES : PIED-BILLED GREBE. 393 



PIED-BILLED GREBE, OR DABCHICK. 



PODILYMBUS PODICIPES (L.) Lawr. 



Chars. Length, 12.00-14.00; wing about 5.00 ; bill, i.oo or less, 

 very stout; tarsus, 1.50. Adult: bill bluish, dusky on the 

 ridges, encircled with a black ring ; throat with a long black 

 patch; upper parts blackish-brown; primaries ashy -brown, 

 secondaries ashy and white; lower parts silky-white, more or 

 less mottled or obscured with dusky ; the lower neck in front, 

 fore breast and sides, washed with rusty. Young : lacking the 

 throat patch and peculiar marks of the bill, otherwise not par- 

 ticularly different; in a very early stage the head curiously 

 striped. 



The Dabchick must be classed as a resident in New 

 England. In its range at large, it is a migratory 

 species, but our country falls within the limits both of 

 its summer and winter residence. While it is therefore 

 more numerous and conspicuous during the vernal and 

 autumnal movements, it breeds anywhere with us, and 

 may occasionally be found in winter. 



The nest of the Dabchick, like that of other Grebes, 

 consists of a matted mass of broken-down reeds or other 

 aquatic plants, usually sodden and water-soaked, by the 

 edge of the pond, or almost floating on its surface. The 

 eggs are five or six in number, nearly equal-ended, 

 measuring about 1.25x0.87, with a smooth shell of a 

 whitish color, sometime. as if stained greenish, but not 

 spotted. 



