358 OUTDOOR LIFE IN ENGLAND 



on either side of the head ; the upper parts dark 

 brown ; the shape of the bill is peculiar, being 

 curved slightly upwards, though in length pro- 

 portionately much the same as those of the other 

 grebes. The golden patches on the side of the 

 head change to gray during the winter, as does 

 also the black on the neck. 



The dabchick, or little grebe, is a well-known 

 resident, and frequents, in greater or less numbers, 

 every river, lake, and pond of any size throughout 

 Great Britain and Ireland. It is the smallest of 

 the grebes, measuring only about nine inches in 

 length. It is a shy, wary little bird, a wonderful 

 diver, capable of remaining an immense time under 

 water, and I fear a sad enemy to a fishery, its 

 character as a spawn-eater being all too well 

 deserved, since during the fish-spawning season 

 it is so frequently to be observed in the vicinity of 

 the spawning-beds. Were it not a matter of some 

 difficulty to approach within gunshot distance of 

 this bird, it would doubtless long since have been 

 exterminated on those streams where the fish are 

 strictly preserved. In summer plumage the head, 

 neck, and upper parts are dark brown ; the chin 

 black ; the cheeks, sides, and front part of the 

 neck chestnut colour ; the under parts nearly white. 

 In winter the chin is white, that portion of the neck 

 which is chestnut in summer changing to brown. 



It may perhaps interest the reader to know (if 

 he is not already aware of it) that the family of 

 petrel (Procellariidae) derive their name from the 



