THE GREBES 2315 



characterized by the chestnut red of the cheeks and front of the neck, which in the 

 American species are always ashy gray. 



With the exception that the dabchick, like its small allies, generally 

 spends the whole year in the neighborhood of fresh waters, the grebes 

 are very similar in their habits, all of them resorting to rivers and lakes for the 

 purpose of breeding. Their diving powers are such that, when pursued, these 

 birds seldom take to wing, but nearly always endeavor to escape by disappearing 

 beneath the water to reappear in the most unexpected place. Indeed, although the 

 larger species fly strongly and well, with the neck stretched out and the wings 

 moving rapidly, the dabchick but rarely takes to flight. The ordinary alarm note 

 of the great crested grebe may be expressed by the syllables kek-kek, but at the 

 pairing season a guttural sound is uttered. Their food consists of frogs, fish, 

 mollusks, water insects, etc., supplemented by the shoots and seeds of aquatic 

 plants, and several instances are on record where the dabchick has been found 

 choked through having endeavored to swallow the common bullhead. *The great 

 crested grebe frequently associates in parties during the breeding season; when, 

 like its congeners, it makes its large nest of decaying water plants so nearly level 

 with the surface of the water that it is generally constantly wet. A colony of these 

 birds on the Zuyder Zee, near Danzig, is described by Mr. Seebohm, who writes, 

 that "they were breeding in an immense reed bed, and as our boat neared their 

 nesting grounds we saw the grebes sailing majestically, not to say indignantly, out 

 of the side of the reed bed. As soon as we reached the place I put on my waders, 

 and was soon in a dense forest of reeds, where it was very easy to lose one's way. 

 The water was above my knees, and the reeds were far above my head. After 

 stopping to take the nest of a great sedge warbler with four eggs, I soon found the 

 colony of grebes. There were' dozens of nests, but never very close to each other, 

 and I soon filled my handkerchief with eggs. It was the fifth of June, and only 

 about half the nests contained the full complement of eggs. The birds had evi- 

 dently seen us long before we approached, and had had ample time to retreat with 

 dignity. In the nests, which contained three or four eggs, these were warm and 

 covered with damp moss; but in those containing only one or two, they were uncov- 

 ered and cold." Mr. Seebohm was thus led to believe that the eggs are not covered 

 till the female begins to incubate, and the purpose of covering them is as a protec- 

 tion against chill, and not for concealment; white eggs being quite inconspicuous in 

 the recesses of a dense mass of reeds. The larger grebes are much hunted for the 

 sake of the beautiful silky plumage of the breast, and on the Lake of Geneva it 

 is customary in autumn to make up boating parties, for the purpose of shooting the 

 great crested species. 



The thick-billed, pied-billed, or Carolina grebe (Podilymbus podiceps), 



e which is an exclusively American form, clearly represents a distinct 



Grebe genus, characterized by the shortness and stoutness of the beak, in 

 which the length is less than twice the basal depth. The much arched 

 beak is parti-colored; the length of the metatarsus is less than that of the third toe 

 without the claw; and the head is not tufted, although the throat is ornamented 

 with a black patch. This grebe inhabits Temperate North America and the West 

 Indies, as well as the whole of Central and the greater part of South America. 



