THE CRESTED GREBE. 275 



which a portion of the softer mud and slime of the water 

 adheres, and thus they are soon tinted of a greenish or 

 brownish colour, but that colour is a stain, and not the 

 natural tint of the eggs. The birds are very seldom seen on 

 the wing ; indeed, they are not much seen in any way, as 

 they breed in the sides of the beds of reeds next the water, 

 and are generally either fishing or concealed among these. 



The crested grebe is much larger than the red-necked 

 one. The length is about twenty-two inches, the spread of 

 the wings more than thirty, and the weight from two to 

 three pounds. The female is rather less than the male and 

 has a shorter crest. 



The bill is about two and a half inches in length, dull red 

 at the base, and pale brown along the exterior of the upper 

 mandible and at the tip. The irides and naked circle round 

 the eyes are crimson, the legs and feet dusky black, with a 

 yellowish tinge on the inside of the former. The naked 

 stroke from the gape to the eye, crimson in the breeding 

 season, and dusky black at other times. Crown of the head 

 and crest, which is divided into two rounded lobes, dusky 

 black ; cheeks white, with a dark streak from behind the eye 

 to the crest ; ear tufts, which form, a sort of short ruff, rusty, 

 deeply bordered with black. General colour of the upper 

 part dusky brown, with the secondary quills and part of the 

 bend of the wing white. Chin dusky brown, and all the rest 

 of the under part silvery white, with an exquisite satin gloss. 

 The texture of their feathers is as fine as their lustre, and 

 they have the advantage of not being easily ruffled, so that 

 in countries where the birds are more abundant than they 

 appear to be with us, that part of the skin is used as an 

 article of ornamental dress. Besides being smaller than the 

 male, and having the crest shorter, the female has all the 

 colours paler. The young, in their first plumage, are without 



T2 



