IV 



430 



THE DlVlNd 15IRDS — 'PYGOPODES. 



m 



who, liowevcr, affirmed that it was quito uncommon. Egf,'s of this species obtained 

 from the Yukon and other interior Antic hjcalities, are rough and white, some 

 inclining to i)aU^ greenish, others witli bulT-cohjred stains, and all of the usual elong- 

 ated shape so peculiar to the family. They measure in length from 2.10 inches to 

 2.35, and in breadth from 1.1*5 to lA't. 



Professor Kundien writes me that in October, 187.'5, his son Ludwig saw in the 

 middle of Lake Koskonong live large (rrebes, which were not cristdtiis, but which 

 agreed perfectly with C. ijriseijcna in their nuirkings. Unfortunately he was unable 

 to obtain one of them. 



Tliis Grebe is more or less common along the whole New England coast at different 

 periods ; and in the winter of 1838 I procured a luuuber of examples in immature 

 plumage in the lioston market, which were sent in the ilesh to Mr. Audubon. Early 

 in September, 18G7, Mr. William Hrewster procured a tine specimen in I'lymouth, 

 Mass., which had be; a shot as it was diving anu)ng the breakers. This bird is still 

 found more or less fretpiently during the fall and winter in the markets of Boston. 



According to Giraud, it occasionally extends its migrations along the coasts of 

 Long Island and New Jersey. The si)ecimens procured in that vicinity are nearly 

 all young birds, the adult being a great rarity. 



Mr. Donald Gunn, writes in regard to the ])resence of this species in the Red River 

 Region, that it is a comparatively rare bird there, living in unfrecpiented ami solitary 

 places, feeding on small fish and fresh-water shells. lie is not able to state the 

 usual number of eggs that this bird lays, but from its general scannty he is inclined 

 to the opinion that it cannot be large. The flesh of this Grebe is black and unpalat- 

 able, and is never eaten by the whites. 



Jlr. Robert Kennicott, who found this species breeding in the neighborhood of 

 Eort Yukon, states that the nest found June 11 was floating on the water among the 

 grass on the borders of the lake. It was nearly flat on the top, and very little above 

 the surface of the water, and contained three eggs. He saw the female, but only at 

 a distance ; both this species and Di/fes uiirltus being seldom or never seen to leave 

 their nests, as they (piietly slip into the water and dive at once. After incubation 

 has begun, the female, when she leaves her nest, covers up her eggs with wet grass 

 taken from the bottom of her nest, unless compelled to depart on the instant. In 

 several cases Mr. Kennicott found the eggs quite warm when thus hidden ; and 

 he was convinced that the bird could oidy have just left the nest on his approach, but 

 that she had stopped long enough to conceal her eggs. The top of the nest is always 

 more or less wet, and this causes the discoloration of the eggs. 



This Grebe appears to have been found in considerable numbers at Fort Rae and 

 on the Yukon by Mr. Kennicott and Mr. Lockhart; at Fort Rae also by Mr. S. 

 Clarke; at Fort Simpson by Mr. Ross; on I'eal's River by Mr. C. 1*. Gaudet; at 

 Fort Y''ukon by Mr. S. Jones and Mr. J. Sibbiston ; among the mountains west of 

 the Lower Mackenzie, at Fort Anderson, by Mr. MacFarlane ; and at .Shoal Lake by 

 Mr. D. Gunn. 



Mr. Bischoff collected specimens of this (Jrebe at Sitka; and Mr. Dall found it 

 not uncommon in the marshes on the banks of the Yukon River as far uj) as Fort 

 Yukon, where Mr. Kennicott had i)revi(msly obtained its eggs. Sir John Richardson 

 speaks of this Grebe as being very common in the Fur Countries, where it was 

 found in nearly every lake having grassy borders. 



Eggs of this species from Yukon, Real's River, and Fort Simpson, resemble those 

 of this genus generally, and vary greatly in size; namely, from 2.05 inches to 2.55 in 

 length, and from 1.20 to 1.50 in breadth. 



