AMERICAN EARED GREBE. -^ 27 



breast brownish-red; head glossy black, including the ruff; a broad band over 

 the eye, to and including occipital crests, brownish-yellow ; bill black, yellow- 

 tipped ; the eye fiery-red. The young differ as in other species, but always 

 recognizable by the above measurements and proportions. 



Hab. — Northern hemisphere. Breeds from the northern United States 

 northward. 



Nest, a floating mass of vegetable material fastened to the reeds or rushes 

 in shallow water. 



Eggs, two to seven, whitish, shaded with greenish-blue. 



Generally distributed, breeding in all suitable places throughout 

 Ontario, notably at St. Clair Plats. The nest is so completely isolated, 

 that the young when hatched may be said to tumble out of the shell 

 into the water. The birds arrive in spring, as soon as the ice begins 

 to break up, and remain quite late in the fall, individuals being 

 occasionally seen on Lake Ontario during the winter. 



The Grebes upon land are the most awkward of birds, but in the 

 water they are surpassed by none in the swiftness and grace of their 

 movements. 



One of the accomplishments possessed by this species is the 

 ability, when alarmed, to sink under water without leaving so much 

 as a ripple to mark where it has gone down, the point of the bill 

 being last to disappear. 



It has a wide breeding range, having been found by Dr. Bell at 

 Fort George, on the east side of James' Bay, and also at Fort Severn 

 and York Factory, on the west coast of Hudson's Bay. Nelson says 

 of it, in the "Birds of Alaska": "Like the preceding, this handsome 

 species occurs along the ea.stern shore of the Behring Sea in very 

 «mall numbers in the breeding season, but is not rare in autumn. 

 It is also a common summer resident along the Yukon, and occurs 

 rayely on the Commander Islands." 



COLYMBUS NIGRICOLLIS CALIFORNICUS (Heekm.). 

 3. American Eared Grebe. (4) 



AdiUt male: — Long ear tufts of rich, yellowish brown; head and neck all 

 round, black ; upper parts, grayish-black ; sides, chestnut ; lower parts, silvery 

 gray ; primaries, dark chestnut ; secondaries, white, dvisky at the base ; length, 

 13 inches. Young similar, the ear tufts wanting, and the colors generally 

 •duller. 



