440 COLTMBIDJE.— PODICIPEDID^. 



Bubtus pure albo, loris et facie lateral! albidis nigro striolatis ; gutturis et pectoris plumis obsolete 

 brunneo marginatis ; corporis lateralibus idutnis medialiter brunneis, griseo vel albo late marginatis ; 

 Bubalaribus et axillaribus pure albis, his apioem versus bruniieis ; crissi plumis et subcaudalibus brunneo 

 terminatis : rostro nigro, apice pallidiore ; pedibus livide grisescenti-eseruleis, intus pallide carneo tinctis, 

 palmis brunnescenti-nigris intus pallidioribus ; iride coocinea. Long, tota circa 20-5, als8 14-2, caudse 

 2-6, culm. 2'95, tarsi 3-8. (Descr. spec, adulti hiemalis ex Vancouver I. Mus. Brit.) 



Hah. Northern parts of both Hemispheres, ranging in winter to Lower California, 



the Gulf of Mexico, and the Mediterranean Sea ^ 4 5_ — Mexico, Valley of Mexico 



[Her r era '^ ^). 



C. glacialis breeds from the Northern United States northward. In winter it is 



said to visit the Gulf of Mexico and Lower California. Herrera has recorded the 



species from the Valley of Mexico '^ ^, but we have not as yet seen a specimen from 



Central America. 



In its winter-haunts this Diver frequents the coasts and the open sea, and is not 

 easily approached. Its great powers of diving and swimming are well known. 



Fam. PODICIPEDID^. 



The Grebes differ from the Divers in having the hallux raised above the level of 

 the fore toes ; all the toes have scalloped webs or lateral lobes, united at the base. 

 The tail is rudimentary. Culmen short or only moderately long, somewhat curved 

 downwards towards the tip, straight, or occasionally slightly upturned ; feathers on 

 forehead normal ; secondaries equal to, or not much shorter than, the primary quills ; 

 metatarsus considerably shorter than the middle toe and claw {cf. Grant, Cat. Birds 

 Brit. Mus. xxvi. p. 502). 



Three genera of Podicipedidse are recognized by Mr. Grant {I. c), all of which occur 

 in Central America. The family is cosmopolitan in its range. 



Grebes usually make their nests of decaying rushes and water-plants. The eggs are 

 covered with a chalky-white substance, underneath which the bluish-green colour of 

 the shell is seen; they are generally concealed by rushes cast over them by the 

 parent birds on leaving the nest. 



^CHMOPHORUS. 



Mchmophorus, Coues, Proc. Acad. Philad. 1862, p. 229 j Grant, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. xxvi. 

 p. 549 (1898). 



In this genus the secondary quills are short, the longest being nearly equal to the 

 ninth or tenth primary, and the metatarsus to the middle toe and claw, or a little 

 shorter than the latter, the culmen being very long and pointed. 



Two species are known, JE. major and J?, occidentalis. The former is an inhabitant 

 of South, the latter of North-western America, occurring in Central America in 

 winter. 



