GREAT-CRESTED GREBE. 407 



lakes of Russia and Siberia ; it is abundant in Germany, 

 Holland, and France, in Provence, and Italy, at Corfu, 

 Sicily, and Malta ; it is found also at Tangiers, and "frr. 

 Smith brought examples from South Africa. The Zoo- 

 logical Society have received specimens from Smyrna and 

 Trebizond ; it has been observed about Mount Caucasus 

 and in several parts of Asia. 



The under surface of the body of this bird being of a 

 delicate silvery whiteness, and of a shining silky appear- 

 ance, one of the names of this well-known bird is that of 

 Satin Grebe ; and skins, from the beauty of their appear- 

 ance, are in great request for making muffs for ladies, 

 or more frequently to cut up into narrow strips as trim- 

 ming for pelisses. A good skin sells for six or eight 

 francs on the Continent, and in the vicinity of the Lake 

 of Geneva, which is frequented in autumn by these birds, 

 it is usual for sportsmen to make parties on the lake 

 to obtain specimens by shooting. The bird is there 

 called Grebe de Leman, and this sport, called La chasse 

 du Grebe, is referred to by M. Necker, in his paper on the 

 Birds of Geneva, and has been described to me by an 

 English gentleman who had pursued the amusement. 



A party of four, as shooters, hire a boat with able 

 rowers, and on a calm day, when the surface of the lake is 

 smooth, they put off, and look out with telescopes for a 

 large Grebe, towards which the men row ; on their ap- 

 proach the bird dives, and the boatmen pull with vigour 

 in the direction the bird has taken, in order to be near it 

 when it comes up to the surface to breathe. One of 

 the shooters stations himself in the bow of the boat, one at 

 the stern, and the others are one at each side, about the 

 middle, in order that one or the other may be in a position 

 to take the shot as soon as the bird is visible. At the 

 commencement of the pursuit, when the bird is strong, it 



