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 X. Am. 1!. 

 !2, no. 8J8 ; 



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 the wiulei 



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 iiuconimon 

 eotliuid nil 

 cxtivincly 

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^fr. IMootor, who visiti-d Ifi'laiid in t8,*{7, found this (hrbc tluTf frpciucntinfj the 

 frcsli water, and breeding aniong the reeds and the ranker lierbage. The nest is 

 large, and floats on the surface of tlie water, witii wliieh it rises and falls, being foni- 

 l)()so(l of a mass of reeds and otlier a(iuatic idants. Tlie eggs vary from two to four 

 ill number, and when just laid are of a bluish-white e(dor; but they soon beeome 

 stained by the materials of which the nest is composed, and changed to a dirty yel- 

 lowish brown. In size the egg is 1.7."> inches hmg l)y l.'Jn in breadtii. The young 

 birds when first luitelied are covered witli gray-colored down. When the old bird is 

 alarmed by the apjjroaeh of an intnuler, she instantly dives, hut reai)i)ears at the 

 distance of about thirty yards. ^Ir. I'roctor mentions that, having obs(>rved one of 

 these birds dive from the nest, whicli he killed as it arose, he was siirj)rised to see 

 two young birds, that liad been concealed lieneath the wings of tlie parent, <lrop upon 

 the water. In several other instances he found these birds diving with tlieir young 

 under their wings, tliese being placed with their heads toward the tail, and their bills 

 resting upon the back of the parent liird. 



IMr. George A. Hoardman informs me that he has noticed similar habits in the 

 birds of this species, which are not uncommon in th(> summer in the vicinity of Mill- 

 town, N. 1{. In the summer of 1873 he obtained a female with a brood of chicks. In 

 swimming about in the lake the parent carried her young about with her on her back, 

 tlie jmrpose of this being ajiiiarently to enable the j'oung i)irds to have an opportunity 

 of sunning themselves, as has been observed to be the habit of the common Loon in 

 referen(!e to its young. This species of Grebe is common near Calais, Me., through- 

 out the year, occurring in the winter where there is oiien water. 



In Scandinavia i\Ir. Wheelwright found this species sparingly distributed over the 

 whole country, from Gottenburg up to Kast Finland and far into Norway. It is not 

 very eimimon in Sweden, but breeds there in the reedy parts of shallow water. 

 Middendorff includes it in his List of the Birds of Sib ■•.ia, whore it is found in the 

 wooded districts. 



Professor Reinhardt mentions the occurrence of a single bird of this species, in 

 immature plumage, in the simthern part of Greenland. Captain Ulakiston obtained 

 specimens of it on the Plains of the Sa.skatchewau, and also about Hudson's IJay. 

 Mr. IJcrnard lioss met witli it on the Mackenzie Hivcr; Mr. jVIurray cites it as occur- 

 ring on Lake Winnipeg and Hudson's Pay; and Mr. Kennicott obtained it on the 

 ited Kiver of the North. Mr. Dall killed a number of this spi^cios at Nulato, in May, 

 1S()8; but it was not very common in that region. One specimen obtiiinod was a 

 female with one egg well developed in the ovary. He obtained a ])arent with her 

 two eggs from an Indian at Fort Yukon, in June, 18(57. It is not otherwise referred 

 to in tiie notes of explorers in the Arctic, Pegions, though Sir .John Piohardsou states 

 that it is very common in the Fur Countries, fre(pienting every grass-bordered lake. 

 Its shy and retiring habits render it a bird not readily noticed. It is given by Mr. 

 K. ISrowno as one of the birds of Vancouver Island. 



This Grebe is quite common in the fall in the Poston market, the specimens l)ein^ 

 usually in an immature plumage. 



According to Giraud, it is quite common in and about Long Island. It is well 

 known to the hunters of that region under the name of the "Hell-diver" — an 

 emphatic mode of indicating its wonderful powers of disappearance under water. It 

 i.s usually found in the submerged meadows ; and when surprised, avoids pursuit by 

 iliviug. Its food is cliiefly fish, and its flesh is said to bo vi-ry nni)alatable. 



Mr. J. A. Allen met with this Grel)e in the valley of Great Salt Lake, in the 

 month of September. 



VOL. II. — 55 



