GREBES 139 



is now an obsolete expression. In diving, Grebes spring partly from the 

 water and plunge downward, headfirst, or sink quietly backward, 

 leaving scarce a ripple behind. Returning, they may pop suddenly 

 from beneath the surface, or rise slowly and expose only the bill above 

 the water, a habit which accounts for many apparently mysterious dis- 

 appearances. When under water, Grebes progress usually by aid of the 

 feet. With other diving birds, they control their specific gravity by 

 inhaling or exhaling air, and it has lately been suggested (Townsend, 

 "Labrador Spring," p. 191) that, by compressing their feathers and expell- 

 ing the air between them, the birds become less buoyant when diving. 



Grebes' nests are usually rafts or islands of water-soaked vegetation. 

 They lay from three to nine dull white eggs, which they generally cover 

 with the nest-material before leaving. The young are born covered with 

 down, which, in most species, has a boldly striped pattern. They swim 

 soon after hatching, using the back of the parent as a resting-place. 



Grebes feed chiefly on fish, but eat also various small forms of aquatic 

 life and some vegetable matter. Their stomachs usually contain feathers, 

 often in astonishing numbers. I have found 331 body feathers of the 

 adult Western Grebe in the stomach of a young bird of this species not 

 more than three days old. This feather-eating habit has not, I believe, 

 ever been explained. The close-plumed, satiny breasts of Grebes have 

 long been used for turbans, muffs, capes, etc., and their slaughter for 

 commercial purposes, added to the shrinkage in the area of their haunts, 

 due to draining and land Declamation, has greatly reduced their numbers. 



KEY TO THE SPECIES 



A. Depth of bill at nostril over "35. 



a. Wing over 6'00 2. HOLBCELL'S GREBE. 



b. Wing under 6'00 6. PIED-BILLED GREBE. 



B. Depth <*tf bill at nostril less than '35 3. HORNED GREBE. 



1. JEchmophorus occidentalis (Lawr.). WESTERN GREBE. Neck long 

 and slender; no seasonal difference in plumage. Ads. Crown and hindneck 

 black; back brownish gray; underparts satiny white; inner- web of wing- 

 quills more or less white. L., 26'00; W., 7'50; B., 2'60. 



Range. W. N. A. Breeds from B. C., s. Sask., and s. Man. s. to n. 

 Calif., Utah, and n. N. D.; winters from s. B. C. s. to cen. Mex., casual 

 e. to Nebr., Kans., Wise., Minn., and Que. 



Nest, in colonies of the stems and leaves of aquatic plants; an attached 

 but floating raft, or an island. Eggs, 3-5, pale bluish overlaid with chalky 

 white, 2'39 x 1.55. Date, Devil's Lake, N. D., June 1. 



The long, slender neck gives to this species a singularly stately 

 and swanlike appearance. It is an exquisitely graceful creature, and 

 there is to me more beauty in the satiny white and shining black of 

 its neck and head than in the ornate breeding costumes of some other 

 Grebes. While preening their plumage they often lie on one side in the 

 water, when the light flashes from their glistening breasts as it would 

 from a mirror. Their call is a loud, double-toned, grating, whistle 

 c-r-r-ee, c-r-r-ee which can be clearly heard when the bird is out of 



