526 Chernel de Ghemelhâza : 



of such exaggerated protection. Fulica atra and Golymbus 

 nigricollis are less harmful, but sometimes also disadvan- 

 tageous to the fry. The use of these last-mentioned birds 

 is notable, as poor people can have cheap meat during the fast, 

 and the skins of the Grebes are bought up by the furriers, 

 who work them up into beautiful collars, muffs, etc. 

 After the shooting season, we can hardly find any differ- 

 ence in the numbers of birds, and the observer can 

 enjoy just as much as before the Grebes and Water-hens ; 

 they enliven the lake, and are a pleasure to see, and not 

 even those bird-protectors who, quite rightly, wish to 

 protect the birds on economical grounds, as well as from the 

 aesthetic point of view, can have anything to say against 

 these shootings. All these years I have examined the series 

 of Grebes which were shot, and found only three cases of 

 albinism and one of melanism, which I describe as follows : — 



Complete albinism occurred in a specimen of Golymbus 

 griseigena, shot on the 19th of August, 1898, by my cousin 

 B. de Meszleny. The whole plumage was white ; the bill, 

 legs and feet were orange-coloured, the iris was lead-grey. 



A very j>retty example of partial albinism was observed in a 

 Golymbus nigricollis <$ , which was shot on the 4th of April, 

 1902. The black parts of the head and neck are speckled 

 with white feathers, especially at the back of the head, 

 around the face, and more so on the under part of the neck ; 

 the upper surface is almost quite white ; the other parts are 

 of normal colouring. 



I shot a Golymbus cristatus <$ on the 29th of March, 

 1892, where partial albinism as well as erythrism were to 

 be observed. The general colour of the wings is white, 

 the quills only being dark brownish-grey ; the innermost 

 secondaries partially brownish-grey, some of the middle 

 wing-coverts light rusty, brownish-grey about the end ; the 

 general colour of the crown of head, forehead, and the crest 

 or tuft on each side of the nape are chestnut somewhat 

 tipped with brownish-grey. The feathers of the back are 

 also lighter than usual, more especially the sides of the back 

 and lower neck, which are more rusty and white. 



The most interesting specimen of Golymbus cristatus £ was 

 one shot by myself on April 14th, 1905, which is a total 



