PODICEPS FLUVIATILIS. 1061 



tank, or lake on which it may not he seen during the cold weather. It inhabits elevated waters, being found 

 permanently at the lake on the summit of the Palanis, at Ootacamund, and in the valleys of Cashmir. As 

 regards the low country, it is common in the Deccan, in Orissa, Chota Nagpur, and the surrounding region, 

 Lower Bengal, the Doab, and thence up into Cashmir and the Punjab, as well as through all the province of 

 Sindh and the surrounding country. Eastwards it extends from Nepal through Cachar, Upper Burmah, 

 where it is very common, to Tenasserim, in which province it appears to be sparingly distributed. Beyond this 

 region again it is found in Hainan, China, Formosa, and the Philippines. In the winter it is found on the 

 China coasts, frequenting salt water, whither it is driven from inland waters by the frost. Southward it 

 extends to some of the Malay islands, among which are Celebes, Ternate, and Timor. To the north of China 

 it occurs in Japan, being common in Yezo and other parts. Returning again to Central Asia, we find it 

 recorded by Severtzoff as resident in Eastern Turkestan ; and the same is the case, to a limited extent, in 

 the highlands of Kashgharia, where Dr. Scully found it in December about unfrozen pools. It is found in 

 suitable localities in Persia ; and Canon Tristram met with it in " amazing numbers " at the Sea of Galilee, 

 and also saw it in winter on the Dead Sea; but in the breeding-season it disperses all over the country. In 

 all the southern and central countries of Europe it is very common, inhabiting also the islands of the 

 Mediterranean. In Great Britain it is an abundant species, and universally distributed in suitable localities 

 northward to the Orkneys and the Hebrides, beyond which it is an occasional visitor to the Faroes. It 

 does not breed in Shetland ; but we learn from Mr. Robert Gray's work that its nest has been found in Scotland 

 at an elevation of 2000 feet. In Western Europe it ranges through Belgium and Holland, where a few 

 remain in winter, into Denmark, arriving there, according to Mr. Dresser, in April and leaving in September, 

 and beyond which it extends into Southern Sweden and Norway as far as lat. 62° N., likewise straying 

 rarely to Finland [Dresser) . 



It is found in the Baltic provinces and in Poland, being resident in suitable localities, according to 

 Mr. Dresser, who also remarks that it breeds in the eastern portions of Northern Germany, and inhabits 

 Russia as far north as the Riazan Government and the neighbourhood of Moscow ; it is also resident in 

 parts of Southern Germany and Austria, although it is, writes Messrs. Danford and Harvie Brown, not 

 common in Transylvania. In Spain, as also in Italy and Sicily, it is, as a matter of course, a stationary 

 species. In Andalucia, according to Col. Irby, it breeds abundantly in some localities ; and in Sardinia it 

 is abundant in winter. 



On the continent of Africa it is widely distributed, extending from Morocco on the west and Egypt 

 on the east, down both coasts to Cape Colony, where it is common, according to Layard. It is resident, 

 says Favier, in Morocco, but is nevertheless, to a certain extent, migratory, passing north in April and 

 returning in October and December. In Algeria it is a stationary species, as also in Egypt, where it is 

 common ; but does not, according to Captain Shelley, affect the Nile. Von Heuglin met with it on the 

 lagoons of the Delta, and on canals and other inland waters in Nubia and Kordofan, and on the Blue Nile; 

 whilst in Abyssinia he found it resident from an elevation of 5000 to 11,000 feet. Southward on the east 

 coast it has been found at Mozambique and Mombas, and extends to Madagascar, where it is resident. It 

 has also been procured in the Mauritius. It is not uncommon in Cape Colony, and is likewise an inhabitant 

 of Damara Land, Benguela, Gaboon, the Gold Coast, and Senegambia. In Damara Land Mr. Andersson 

 procured it on Lake Ngami and other localities in the interior, among which, at the vleys of the Ondonga 

 country, it breeds in vast numbers. 



Habits. — The Little Grebe inhabits ponds, tanks, lakes, canals, and other still waters, associating usually 

 in small flocks of half a dozen to twelve individuals, but occasionally assembling in larger numbers, 

 which form a scattered troop generally divided into little parties, keeping at a slight distance from one 

 another. When undisturbed the Dabchick passes its time diving for food or quietly floating upon the 

 water. When pursued in a boat it is capable of swimming very fast, frequently diving and staying a 

 considerable time under water, sometimes reappearing at a long distance behind, or on either side of, the 

 pursuer. It is a most expert diver, disappearing apparently at the flash of the gun, and is consequently very 

 difficult to hit ; but when a flock are fired into some of the members frequently get on the wing and fly 

 along the surface of the water, thus exposing themselves to the more effectual aim of the shooter. On the 



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