104 LAKES AND RIVERS. 



comes of a deeper red after death. The face is 

 white ; the crown of the head, the crest, and sides of 

 the cheeks a bright black, which shades into 

 reddish on the sides of the head ; all the lower parts 

 of the bird are of a silvery white, the upper brown 

 and blackish. The secondary feathers of the wings 

 are pure white, slightly reddish where the wings join 

 the breast. There is a naked space from the corner 

 of the beak to the eye, the iris is crimson ; the feet 

 are blackish, the under part yellowish-white. The 

 length of the bird from the point of the beak is 

 1 8 or 19 inches. This is the plumage after the 

 third moult. The female does not differ much 

 from the male, the crest is shorter and the colours 

 duller. The crest does not fully appear till the bird 

 is three years old, but a short crest and fringe of fea- 

 thers at the sides of the head are developed after the 

 second moult ; also a black band is visible under the 

 eyes. Before moulting the young have the head and 

 neck of a deep brown, and instead of the crest and 

 fringe which afterwards appear, have lines of blackish 

 brown in zigzag form. The iris is then yellow. 



The bills of the grebes are straight, hard, and com- 

 pressed ; the nostrils at the sides of the beak are ob- 

 long, closed at the back by a membrane and open in 

 the front ; the feet are long, placed far back, three 

 toes before, one behind, the fore toes are much 

 spread, but united at the base, and surrounded by a 

 membraneous fringe, as is the back toe ; the nails 

 are large. They have a very short tail, and wings not 

 long. The food of the grebes is fish, amphibia, 

 winged insects, and vegetables. They walk very awk- 



