1422 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



much resemble. They can always be distinguished from 

 the ducks, however, by their pointed bills, short rounded 

 wings, and their apparent lack of tails which are repre- 

 sented by mere tufts of feathers. Their feet, instead of 

 being fully webbed as in the ducks and loons, are lobed, 

 appearing as though the webbing had been cut between 

 the toes. This does not seem to hinder their swimming 

 or diving for they are fully the equals of their larger 

 cousins, diving so deeply and remaining under for so 

 long that they often seem never to come up. Indeed, 

 when alarmed, they sometimes come up very quietly, 

 letting only their bills show above the water and if there 

 is a slight ripple on the surface they are entirely invisible. 

 This has given rise to many stories of mysterious disap- 

 pearances and to such popular names as "water witch" 

 and "Hell-divers" already mentioned. When diving they 

 either dive 

 head foremost 

 with a flip of 

 their feet or 

 they settle 

 backwards so 

 carefully as to 

 scarcely leave 

 a ripple on the 

 surface. Such 

 expert divers 

 are they that 

 they prefer this 

 method of es- 

 cape to flight, 

 especially as it 

 seems to take 

 c o n s i derable 

 effort for them 

 to rise. When 

 they do take- 

 fl i g h t , they 

 ordinarily pat- 

 ter along the 

 surface for 

 some distance 

 before they are 

 able to get up enough momentum to lift themselves from 

 the water. Once on the wing, however, they look a great 

 deal like ducks because they carry their feet straight out 

 behind them and these make up for the absence of tails 

 which would otherwise be a conspicuous difference. 



The commonest species of grebe is the pied-billed grebe, 

 an inconspicuous brownish little bird even in its breeding 

 plumage. It is found most often on reed bordered 

 ponds and marshy lakes where it builds its floating nest, 

 anchoring it to the reeds. The nest is but a pile of 

 debris and looks like the little platforms that muskrats 

 sometimes build to rest on. When the bird leaves the 

 nest she always covers her eggs with some of the material 

 of the nest, and, as she is seldom, if ever, surprised on the 

 nest, it was once thought that pied-billed grebes did not 

 incubate their eggs as other birds but depend upon the 

 sun and the heat of the decaying vegetation to hatch 



A WATER BABY'S FIRST SWIM 



The proud mother grehe is swimming up to encourage her brave little youngster that has struggled from 



the nest shortly after hatching. 



them. The eggs are white when first laid but soon be- 

 come discolored. The young grebes, when first hatched, 

 are curious little creatures, covered with down of a 

 striped black and white pattern very different from that 

 of their parents. They are able to swim almost as soon 

 as hatched and follow their parents about the pond. 

 When they get tired they climb upon the backs of their 

 parents and in case of alarm, the old birds cover them 

 with their wings and dive from sight, coming up among 

 the reeds where they can easily hide. The pied-billed 

 grebes are found in summer from British Columbia to 

 Chile and Argentina, thus having one of the most ex- 

 tensive breeding ranges of any bird, and in winter they 

 occur from Maryland southward. 



Another common grebe is the horned grebe, so called 

 from the tufts of yellowish feathers that decorate the 



sides of the 

 head during 

 the breeding 

 season. In ad- 

 dition to these 

 plumes, it has 

 the neck, breast 

 and sides a 

 rich chestnut 

 and the upper 

 parts blackish, 

 so that alto- 

 gether, it is a 

 m uch hand- 

 somer and 

 more striking 

 bird than the 

 p i e d - b i 1 led 

 grebe. In win- 

 t e r plumage, 

 however, it 

 lacks all of 

 these bright 

 colors and is 

 merely gray 

 above and sil- 

 very white be- 

 low, the white of the under parts extending on to the 

 sides of the head and making it a more conspicuous bird 

 than it would otherwise be. 



In its habits it is not strikingly different from its 

 cousin, for it builds a floating nest and cares for its young 

 in the same curious way. It is a more northern species 

 however, nesting from northern United States northward 

 to Alaska and wintering from the northern states to 

 Florida. 



A third and larger species is the Holboell's grebe, a 

 less common bird than the horned grebe, although it has 

 about the same distribution. In winter plumage it is 

 similar to the horned grebe but does not have such white 

 cheeks. During the summer it is conspicuously different 

 for the throat and sides of the head are pure white and it 

 does not have the ear tufts. A somewhat smaller species 

 (Continued on Page 1424) 



