112 WILD ANIMALS OF GLACIER NATIONAL PAKIi. 



Horned CJeebe : C'ohjml>ii!< aurilus. — On a pond above the Swiftcur- 

 rent Lakes, only a short distance from Many Glaciers, Mr. Steven- 

 son Avas fortnnate enongh to discover the floating nest and eggs of 

 the sprightly little horned grebe, whose reddish neck, pnify side 

 crests, and bright red eyes, almost " perched on 

 its bill," as he says, make it a striking, cocky 

 figure. Sometimes when diving it gets so wet 

 that all its distinctive plumes are lost sight of 

 and only the red neck is left to tell the tale. 

 Careful watch should be kept of the marshy 

 meadows of this fruitful Swiftcurrent section 

 and similar places in the park that other nests 

 maj' be discovered. 



In October, 1887, Dr. George Bird Grinnell 



From Handbook of Western p t,i ^ • -\ a •, i T ill ii in, 



Birds. L.A. Fuertes. fouiicl tlic bircls cfviite abundant on the St. 



Fig. 20. — Horned Mary Lakes and the prairie lakes about the head 



s'^^^"'- of Milk River.^ A pair were also reported in 



June, 1895, by Messrs. Vernon Bailey and Arthur H. Howell, from 



a pond on the prairie near Blackfeet Agency, now Browning. 



On April 21, 1918, Mr. Bailey saw dozens of the puffy headed 

 horned grebes, in full breeding plumage, on Lake McDonald, but 

 the next day, when the wind had come up and the waves were rolling, 

 only a few were seen. 



Eared Grebe : Colyinbus nigricoUis ccdifornicus. — As this is the 

 grebe most likely to be seen in the park, it is important to know its 

 distinctive characters. Only about half the size of the white-throated 

 western grebe and the red-throated Holboell — or about a foot long — • 

 its median, pointed crest, light ear tufts, and dusky neck distinguish 

 it from the puffy-headed, rufous-necked little horned grebe. In man- 

 ner, also, it is quite different from the cocky little horned grebe, which 

 comes up from below with a shake of its feathers, points its bill down, 

 and is gone ; for it Avill sit quietly on the water looking at you with 

 gentle interest for a long time. It lias been reported by Mr. W. S. 

 Gibb as breeding on various park lakes, notable among them Lafe 

 McDonald, and it has been found by Mr. "\Y. C. Gird, in July and 

 August, on the middle lake of the Swiftcurrent chain not far from 

 the place where Mr. Stevenson found the nest of the horned grebe 

 and where it was evidently taking advantage of the superior feeding 

 ground offered by the unusually muddy lake bottom. Mr. Gird has 

 also seen it on Glenn and Elizabeth Lakes, in the Bellj' River coun- 

 try, and on Waterton- Lake, at the Canadian boundary. It is inter- 

 esting to know that in October, 1887, Dr. Grinnell also found it 

 abundant on the St. Mary Lakes. Wherever it is found, close at 



• Some Autumn Birds of the St. Mary Lakes Region, Forest and Stream, VoL XXX, 

 J). 308, May 31, 1888. 



