416 THE BIRDS OF DEVON. 



some of them presenting a grotesque appearance with 

 their hoods, tippets, ears, and horns, as the feathers around 

 the head developed in spring have been variously termed. 

 In winter these feathei's are either wholly or partially 

 lost. The tail is quite rudimentary, being represented by 

 a tuft of downy feathers. One of the finest species, the 

 Great Crested Grebe, has been well-nigh exterminated, 

 owing to the fashion which prevailed at one time amongst 

 ladies to carry muffs made of the skin of the silvery-white 

 breast, which was also used for tippets and for trimming 

 hats. The toes of the Grebes are not webbed like those 

 of the Divers, but most curiously flattened out and covered 

 with scales, closing one over the other so as to offer as 

 little resistance as possible to the water in making the 

 forward stroke when swimming. They are most expert 

 divers, and difficult to shoot, as they disappear under water 

 like a flash when alarmed, and when they come up to 

 breathe they are able to keep their bodies submerged, and 

 only show their heads and necks, or even only the tip 

 of the bill, above water. Some of them continually pluck 

 and swallow their own feathers. Their food consists of fish, 

 moUusks, insects, and worms. 



Great Crested Grebe. Podiceps cHstatus (Linn.). 



[Tippet Grebe, Great Dabchick.] 



A winter visitor, of frequent occurrence off the coasts and in the larger 

 estuaries, but seldom seen inland, and never abundant, being generally 

 met with singly, and only rarely in small parties. It is seldom obtained 

 in full breeding-plumage, and does not often occur in spring. 



In its full adult summer plumage this, the largest of our British Grebes, 

 is a very singular-looking bird. It formerly bred on many lakes and 

 ponds throughout the kingdom, particularly on the Norfolk Broads, but it 

 has been almost exterminated, and now nests only on a few sanctuaries 

 where it is carefully protected. In the autumn and winter it is far from 

 a rare bird on our Devon waters, and appears to be especially fond of 

 Torbay, where many specimens, some in full breeding-dress, have been 

 obtained. In the Gallery of British Birds at the South Kensington 



