248 Order XVI 



Somewhere about the middle of Asia it meets Holboll's 

 Grebe, a larger and fairly distinguishable form ranging, 

 thence to Greenland and down North America. The 

 Red-necked Grebe is smaller than the Great Crested 

 Grebe and lacks the head ornaments, while the cheeks 

 and throat are grey and the fore-neck reddish chestnut. 

 The head, moreover, is blacker. The eggs are smaller. 



The Horned or Slavonian Grebe (P. auritus) resembles 

 its congeners in being mainly brown above and white 

 below, but the black head and ruff are surmounted by 

 two long chestnut tufts, one on each side of the head, 

 while the breast and flanks are of a darker chestnut 

 hue. It is often common on our coasts in the colder 

 part of the year, especially to the northward, and 

 has quite recently been found breeding in Inverness- 

 shire ; it is not a southern species, but ranges from 

 Iceland, Denmark, Scandinavia, and Russia to northern 

 Asia and the northern part of North America. 



The Black-necked Grebe (P. nigricoUis) is about the 

 same size as the last-named, both being smaller than 

 the Red-necked species ; it is less common on our 

 coasts than the Horned Grebe, and occupies a compara- 

 tively southerly range, from about the Baltic to south 

 Africa and temperate Asia generally. In the case of 

 all of our Grebes several nests are often found in close 

 proximity, but this species forms very regular colonies, 

 though otherwise its habits are similar. It has the 

 whole head and neck black, except for a patch of 

 yellowish chestnut on each side of the face, and also 

 chestnut flanks. It now breeds occasionally in Britain. 



The Little Grebe (P. fluviatilis) is probably familiar 

 to most of our readers as the " Dabchick," for it is fairly 

 plentiful on our lakes, streams, and larger ponds, as weU 



