Birds of Britain 



a triangular patch of yellowish chestnut feathers on the ear 

 coverts ; upper parts dark brown ; under parts white; flanks 

 chestnut. All the secondaries white, and a good deal of white 

 on the four innermost primaries. Bill black, up-curved in 

 front of the angle. In winter the ear tufts and black on 

 the throat are lost, and at this season it closely resembles 

 the preceding species, but the white on the primaries will 

 always serve to distinguish it. Length 12 in. ; wing 5 in. 



THE LITTLE GREBE OR DABCHICK 



Podicipes fluviatilis (Tunstall) 



The Little Grebe is abundant on rivers, streams, and 

 ponds throughout the country, but becomes scarcer in the 

 north of Scotland. It must be tolerably familiar to every one 

 as a short squat little bird that dives at the smallest alarm, 

 only coming to the surface again some distance away, most 

 often among the reeds and aquatic vegetation near which 

 this bird is always found. The nest is a fair-sized mass of 

 dead weeds floating on the surface of the water and gener- 

 ally moored to some reed stems. 



The eggs, usually five in number, are of a uniform 

 yellowish white, but soon become discoloured by the weeds 

 with which they are always covered when the bird is not 

 sitting. The nestling is striped, and fed by its parents on 

 insects and small fish. These birds are seldom seen on the 

 wing and hardly ever on land, but nevertheless they are 

 well able to stand up and even walk when on shore. 



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