202 ALLEN'S NATURALISES LIBRARY. 



axillaries pure white; "bill black, crimson at the tip and at 

 the base of the under mandible ; bare space between the eyes 

 and the base of the bill crimson ; legs and feet olive-green, 

 palest on the webs ; iris crimson " (Seebohm). Total length, 

 i2'o inches; culmen, 0^9; wing, 5*5 ; tail, 1*6; tarsus, 1*8. 



Mr. E. W. Nelson says that specimens obtained by him near 

 Nulato, in Alaska, had the eyes of the following brilliant 

 colours : " The ball of the eye white ; a bright scarlet areola 

 around the outer edge of the iris, which latter is denned by a 

 white line. The iris proper is bright crimson, with its inner 

 edge brilliant white shaded with pink. The pupil consists of 

 a central black spot, with a broad ring of dark purple." 



Adult Female. Similar to the male. Total length, u'5 

 inches ; wing, 5 '6. 



Winter Plumage. General colour above blackish, slightly 

 shaded with grey on the edges of the feathers ; the head devoid 

 of ornamental plumes ; crown and neck black, the feathers of 

 the former a little full towards the nape ; lores and sides of 

 crown to the line of the eye black ; throat white, like the side 

 of the face, and extending on to the sides of the neck ; re- 

 mainder of under surface of body silky-white, with a little 

 dusky brown on the lower throat below the line of the tippet, 

 which is indicated by the white feathers of the throat and face ; 

 sides of neck blackish-brown ; sides of body mottled with 

 greyish-black tips to the feathers; "bill dark horny, pinkish 

 towards the base, paler at the tip ; tarsi and feet pearly-grey, 

 outer sides of tarsi, outer toe, and joints blackish ; iris blood- 

 red " ( W. R. Ogilvie Grant)* 



Young Birds in Winter. Resemble the adults, but are much 

 browner, especially on the flanks and lower abdomen ; sides 

 of face dusky-white, not pure white as in the adults ; feathers 

 under the eyes and lores black ; feet, in dried skin, with a good 

 deal of yellow about the toes. 



Characters. The old birds are distinguished from the other 

 British Grebes by the black head and tippet, the tawny chestnut 

 bands forming the crest on each side of the crown, and the 

 deep chestnut throat and fore-neck. In winter the resem- 



* On the change; of plumage in this species, cf. J. G. Millais, Ibis, 

 1896, pp. 454-457- 



