ill. 



lin. 



17 







1 



7 



2 







1 







7 







2 



4 



2 



9 



2 



7 



2 











8 



THE RED-NECKED GREBE. 185 



Length (total) from point of bill to end of tail 



„ of bill from forehead to point .... 



,, ,, „ rictus ,, .... 



„ „ ,, nostrils „ .... 



„ „ wing from carpus to end of longest quiU (whichl 



is the second) ..... J 



„ „ tarsus ........ 



„ „ outer toe and nail (nail not extending beyondT 



fleshy portion on this toe) . . . j 



„ „ middle toe and nail ..... 



„ „ inner toe and nail ...... 



„ „ hind toe and nail ...... 



Weight, avoirdupois, 1 lb. 14f oz. 



Colour of irides inconspicuous, bi'ownish-yeUow. 



„ bill bright yeUow towards base, greenish horn-colour towards tip. 



„ outer side of tarsi and base of aU the toes and webs dusky. 



„ inner side of tarsi and upper side of all the toes and webs or 



membrane grceiiish-yeUow. 

 „ plumage agrees precisely with Jenyus' description (p. 252) of the 

 " young at the age of two years." 

 Dissection proved it to be a female. 



The stomach contained the remains of several shrimps {Crangon 

 vulgaris) and fishes, with ' ear-bones ' of small GadiJa. A pipe 

 fish [St/ngnathus acus), ten inches in lejigth, was perfect, excepting 

 the head, which had become decomposed. The fish was so long, 

 that, retaining its straightness, as it did, the caudal fin appeared 

 in the throat of the bird. A number of feathers (but not a ball 

 of them) from the bird^s own body, were mixed with the food. 



None of the preceding five individuals were adult, if the 

 plumage of tliis age be similar in winter and summer. Two of 

 them were obtained in the most severe winters (1837-38 and 

 1849-50) we have had within the period that the bird has been 

 noticed. All the species of Podlceps are most frequently procured 

 on the Irish coast during severe frost and snow. The red-necked 

 grebe is considered rare in England. About the time that the 

 last one occurred in Ireland, tlu'ee individuals were stated at a 

 meeting of the Yorkshire Naturalists' Club — on Tebruary 6tli, 

 1850 — to have "come under the inspection of Mr. Graham 



