420 PROCELLARIM:. 



with white are entirely black ; in the winter plumage the colors 

 are duller, and the front of the neck is an earthy-brown ; and 

 the whole of those portions indicated as speckled with white 

 are pure white ; the orange-red tuft behind the eye is entirely 

 wanting. Stray Feathers, Vol. I, p. 267. 



The Black-necked Grebe is common about the Sind and 

 Mekran Coasts. It has not been recorded from elsewhere within 

 our limits. 



Podiceps minor, Gm. 



975. P. philippensis, Gm. Jerdon's Birds of India, Vol. II, 

 p. 822 ; Butler, Guzerat ; Stray Feathers, Vol. IV, p. 31 ; Deccan, 

 Stray Feathers, Vol. IX, p. 430 ; Murray's Vertebrate Zoology 

 of Sind, p. 312; Swinhoe and Barnes, Central India; Ibis, 

 1885, p. 138, 



THE LITTLE GREBE OR DABCHICK. 



Length, 8 to 9 ; wing, 4 ; tarsus, 1'25 ; bill at front, 075. 



Bill blackish, paler at base ; irides red-brown ; legs greenish- 

 black on the outside, livid tinged with fleshy within. 



Head, above, and the back of the neck, dark sepia-brown, or 

 black tinged with green ; upper plumage generally glossy brown- 

 black tinged with green ; the sides of the rump fulvous ; quills 

 more or less white at the base ; the first six quills almost all pale 

 brown ; secondaries with only a little brown on the outer webs ; 

 chin and base of the lower mandible glossy black ; cheeks, ear- 

 coverts, and sides of the neck, bright chesnut ; breast brown, 

 mixed with whitish or glossy blackish-grey ; belly silky- white, the 

 flanks brown. 



Young birds want the chesnut red on the neck, which is mostly 

 white, the brown above is paler, and the chin and throat are pure 

 white. 



The Little Grebe or Dabchick is a common permanent resident 

 throughout the region, breeding towards the end of the monsoon. 



The nest is a mass of weeds and rushes, resting on the water. 

 The eggs when fresh are pure white, but soon become discolored, 

 owing to the habit the bird* has of covering them with wet weeds 

 every time she leaves the nest. The eggs are moderately broad' 

 ovals, pointed at each end. They are slightly chalky in texture 

 and have rarely much gloss. They measure T39 inches in 

 length by about 1 inch in breadth. 



FAMILY, Procellaridse. 



Bill long, straight, compressed, very deeply grooved ; tip strong, 

 arched, and much hooked ; nostrils tubular, situated at the base of 

 the bill, and exposed. 



SUB-FAMILY, Procellarinae. 



Nostrils at base of keel divided by a septum; hind-toe 

 generally present ; bill slender, compressed ; tarsus moderate. 



