RED-NECKED GEEBE 521 



Geographical distribution. The Bed -necked Grebe 

 breeds over a considerable area of Temperate Europe, 

 extending across the Continent from Denmark to Russia. 

 Southward it may be traced as a nesting-species to the 

 Black Sea, and northward to Norway. In Asia, it breeds as 

 far as Eastern Turkestan and Siberia. On migration in 

 autumn and winter it reaches the Mediterranean, crossing 

 to North Africa. 



DESCRIPTIVE CHARACTERS. 



PLUMAGE. Adult male nuptial. Top of head and back 

 of neck, glossy blackish-brown ; these feathers are elongated, 

 forming a very slight crest, but no 'tippet' is discernible; 

 cheeks, chin, and throat, greyish ; feathers below the eye have 

 white edgings which form a conspicuous streak, which also 

 borders the grey of the cheeks and throat behind ; back, 

 scapulars, wings, rump, and upper tail-coverts, dark brown, 

 with grey gloss ; front and sides of neck, rich reddish-brown ; 

 breast, abdomen, and under tail-coverts, silky-white ; upper 

 breast, sides, and flanks, mottled brownish ; primaries, and 

 outer secondaries, ash-brown ; inner secondaries, white ; 

 lesser wing-coverts, white, forming an alar bar along the 

 edge of the wing. 



Adult female nuptial. Similar to the male plumage. 



Adult winter, male and female. Resembles the nuptial 

 plumage, except that the chin, throat, and upper fore-neck 

 are silvery white, and the cheeks, and the base of the fore- 

 neck, are brownish-white. 



Immature, male and female. Resembles the adult 

 winter-plumage but the general shading is less distinct. 



BEAK. Dark brownish-black, with a yellow base. 



FEET. Dull greenish-brown. 



IRIDES. Yellowish-white, not red as in other Grebes. 



AVERAGE MEASUREMENTS. 



TOTAL LENGTH 18 in. 



WING 7 



BEAK 1-5 ,, 



TARSO-METATARSUS 2 ,, 



EGG 2 x 1-3 in. 



