GREBE. 



671 



are produced, and form a sort of short ruff or mantle 

 on the upper part of the neck ; the crest and top of the 

 head are dusky black , the cheeks are white, with the 

 exception of a dusky streak extending from the eye 

 to the crest ; and the ear-tufts are rust-coloured, with 

 deep black margins ; the general colour of the upper 

 part is dusky brown, with the exception of the se- 

 condary quills, and a small portion at the turn or wrist 

 of the wing, which are white ; the chin also is dusky 

 brown ; but all the rest of the under part is pure 

 white, of exquisite texture and gloss, so that the skin 

 of this species is highly prized for ornamental pur- 

 poses. The female is rather smaller than the male, 

 snd has the crest shorter, and the colours on the 

 upper part paler. The young, in their first plumage, 

 are without the crest and the tufts, and have waving 

 lines of brown on the sides of the head. 



The nest is formed as near the water as possible, 

 and generally on the side of some tufted island most 

 remote from the land. It consists of a great quantity 

 of herbage, and contains four eggs, of nearly the same 

 size as those of a common pigeon ; when first laid 

 those eggs are white, but they are very soon soiled by 

 the mire, which adheres to the feet of the parent bird 

 when she goes into the water to feed, and also as she 

 waddles across any sludge that may be between the 

 water and the nest. 



Crested grebes are very industrious birds, and cap- 

 ture great numbers of small fishes and other inha- 

 bitants of the waters. They are said to be especially 

 partial to young eels, which form great part of the 

 food of the young while in the nest. The slow and 

 wriggling motion of those eels naturally render them 

 a more easy prey to the grebes than the fishes of greater 

 activity are. These birds are not very often seen, and 

 it is exceedingly difficult to procure specimens oi 

 them, in consequence of the alertness with which they 

 dive, and the short time that even the head remains 

 above water when they come up for the purpose ol 

 breathing. They are, however, the most common ol 

 all the larger grebes ; and in winter they come down 

 nearer to the sea coast than some of the others. 



THE TUFTED GREBE (P.cornutus), This species 

 is not quite so common in Britain as the crestec 

 grebe ; and it is more active as well as smaller, anc 

 therefore, not so often seen in proportion to its num- 

 bers. It measures about fourteen inches in length 

 arid more than two feet in the expanded wings, so 

 that it is better winged than the former. The bill is 

 only about one inch long, very stoutly made, reddish 

 at the base, dusky in the middle part, and greenish 

 grey at the tip. The colours of the irides form a very 

 certain and invariable character in this species. They 

 consist of two circles, the inner one crimson, and the 

 outer one white. The naked space round the eye i 

 also white ; but the streak from the eye to the gap< 

 becomes crimson in the breeding season. At thi 

 season too the reddish colour on the basal part ofthi 

 bill is much brighter than at other times. The cres 

 from w hich the bird gets the name of horned or tufted 

 the first of which is a very inaccurate expression, i 

 divided into two pointed lobes or branches, and of a 

 dusky colour. The crown of the head is of the same 

 and the ruff or ear-tufts chestnut, passing into dusky 

 black on the margins ; and both crests and tufts hav 

 a slight reflection of metallic green. The general co 

 lour on the upper part is brownish black ; the for 

 part of the neck and breast are rust-coloured, and th 

 sides and flanks the same, only much paler in th 



mt ; all the rest of the under part is pure white ; the 

 oung are without the crest and ear-tufts, and the f'e- 

 nale has them smaller than the male. The breeding, 

 eneral habits, and haunts of these birds, differ so 

 ittle from those of the former species, that the details 

 )f them are unnecessary. 



THE EARED GREBE (P. auntus}. This species is 

 till smaller than the former, being only about a foot 

 ong, and less than two feet in the stretch of the 

 vings. The name " eared " is not very aptly applied ; 

 or the tufts on the head of this species have just as 

 ittle connection with ears as those of the last men- 

 ioned species has with horns. They rise from above 

 and behind the eyes, stand up separately behind the 

 lead, and are pale chestnut-coloured, with an orange 

 inge. The ear-tufts, which are very short in this 

 species, are also orange tinged chestnut at the bases, 

 )ut they are sooty black at the tips, as are also the 

 lead, nape, and upper parts generally, though broken 

 jy a few mottlings of dull brown on the scapulars and 

 middle of the back. This black fades into chestnut 

 all round its under margins, and that again into pure 

 white on the middle of the under part. The irides 

 are scarlet ; and in the breeding season the streak 

 uefore the eye is crimson. These birds are also very 

 generally but not thickly distributed ; and their habits 

 bear a considerable resemblance to those of the others. 

 THE LITTLE GREBE (P. minor}. This is in some 

 respects the most interesting of all the grebes ; and 

 as a British species it is perhaps the most numerous. 

 It is found in all latitudes of our mainland, where the 

 situation suits it, and also in the islands. Its motions 

 in the water are exceedingly agile ; and in the style 

 of its swimming it something resembles a frog, only it 

 gets on with much more rapidity. Where the banks 

 of the pools and streams are bare, it is rarely met 

 with ; but it is not uncommon in the humid parts of 

 the lower country, where aquatic vegetation is luxu- 

 riant. As it inhabits nearer the dwellings of mankind 

 than the others, it is not so timid. It is indeed a 



Little Grebe. 



bold and very voracious, but at the same time far 

 from an ill-tempered bird. It has often been kept in 

 a state of confinement, if not absolutely tamed ; and 

 if properly supplied with food, it makes a very inter- 

 esting ornament to a garden pond ; small fishes are 



