HOLBCELL'S GREBE 9 



Southward along the Pacific coast: British Columbia: Van- 

 couver Island, September 28; Sumas, November 2. Washington: 

 Cape Disappointment, September; Puget Sound, October 10 to 12. 

 Oregon: Near Corvallis, October 24. California: Mono Lake, Sep- 

 tember 2 to 21; Monterey, arrives September 25. Mexico: Jalisco, 

 La Barca, October 2. 



Casual records. Kansas: Lawrence, November 3. Minnesota: 

 May. Iowa: Blackhawk County, spring. Wisconsin: Lake Kosh- 

 konong, January 4. Indiana: Indianapolis, September. Ohio: Near 

 Youngstown, October 28 to 30. Ontario: Lake Huron at Sarnia. 

 Other Ontario and Quebec records are holboelli. Alaska: Near 

 Dixon Entrance, May 28. Yukon Territory: Teslin Lake, Octo- 

 ber 21. 



Egg dates. North Dakota: 46 records, May 18 to July 9; 23 rec- 

 ords, May 28 to June 10. Manitoba and Saskatchewan: 13 records, 

 June 7 to 26; 7 records, June 8 to 16. Oregon and Washington: 

 1 1 records, May 20 to July 2 ; six records, May 30 to June 12. Utah: 

 8 records, May 20 to June 15; 4 records, May 22 to 25. California: 

 6 records, May 20 to June 23; 3 records, June 1 to 8. 



Colymbus holbcelli (Reinhardt) 

 HOLBCELL'S GREBE 



HABITS 



The extensive, deep-water marshes about the southern end of 

 Lake Winnipegosis, intersected by numerous sluggish streams or 

 dotted with many small, shallow ponds, all of which are full of 

 fish or other forms of aquatic life, furnish ideal breeding grounds 

 for this and other water fowl. The banks of the Waterhen River, 

 which flows northward from Lake Winnipegosis into Waterhen 

 Lake, are broadly lined with many miles of tall golden canes swarm- 

 ing with bird life of various kinds; countless yellow-beaded black- 

 birds are busy with their nesting in the densest canes or clinging to 

 the tops of the swaying stalks and pouring out their ceaseless chatter; 

 Franklin's gulls or black terns are flying overhead with gentle notes 

 of protest; various species of ducks are swimming in the creeks and 

 pond holes; and the graceful western grebes glide in and out among 

 the canes where their nests are hidden. Here the shy HolbcelPs 

 grebe breeds in abundance, probably more abundantly than any- 

 where else throughout its extensive range; though it is so seldom 

 seen that one does not realize how common it is until a systematic 

 search is made for nests. Waterhen River and the lake into which it 

 flows are said to have been so named on account of the abundance 

 there of this species, although the name "waterhen," or "poule d'eau," 

 is applied to any of the grebes or coots. 



