t*OD±CIPIDi;— THE GREBES. ^6l 



very little above the surface of the water, and contained three 

 eggs. He saw the female, but only at a distance; both this 

 species and the Horned Grebe {C. cmril/us) being seldom or never 

 seen to leave their nests, as they quietly slip into the water and 

 dive at once. After incubation has begun, the female, when she 

 leaves her nest, covers up her eggs with wet grass taken from 

 the bottom of her nest, unless compelled to depart on the in- 

 stant. In several cases Mr. Kennicott found the eggs quite 

 warm when thus hidden; and he was convinced that ihe bird 

 could only have just left the nest on his approach, but that she 

 had stopped long enough to conceal her eggs. The top of the 

 nest is always more or less wet, and this causes the discol- 

 oration of the eggs. •( Water- Birds of North Am&rica, Vol. II., 

 p. 430.) 



Subgenus BYTES Kaup. 



Dytes Kaup, Sk. Ent. Eur Thierw. 1829, 49. Type, Colymbus oornutus Gmkl.,=0. auri- 



tus Linn. 

 FroBtopus Kaup, 1. o. Type, Podiceps nigrieollis Beehm. 

 Otodytes B,K1CM. Syst. Nat. 1853, p. iii. Tyvs, F. nigrieollis. 



■ SuBQJBN. Char. Bill much shorter than the head, the oulmeu eaual to about 3 to SH 

 -times the basal depth. Otherwise like Colymbus, but size less (wing not more than 6.00 

 inches). 



The two North American species of this subgenus, both of 

 which occyr in Illinois, though very distinct in their nuptial 

 livery, are much alike in their winter and immature plumages. 

 The shape of the bill, however, wiU enable one to distinguish 

 them readily if the following differences are kept in mind : 



1. C. anritus. Bill compressed (deeper than wide at the base) ( nuptial plumage with 

 lower neck and chest rufous, sides of the occiput with a very full dense tuft of soft, blended, 

 ochraceous feathers. 



2. C. nigrioollis oalifornicus. Bill depressed (broader than deep at the base); nbptial 

 plumage, with head, neck, and chest black, the sides of the head, behind eyes, with a 

 somewhat fan-shaped, loose patch ot slender ochraceous feathers. 



Colymbtis auritus Linn. 



HOBNED 6BEBE. 

 Popular BynonymB. Dusky Grebe; Sclayonlan Grebe; Hell-diver; Di-dipper. 

 Colymbus auritus Linn. S. N. ed. 10 i, 1758, 135: ed. 12, i, 1766, 222.- A. 0. U. Check List, 1886. 

 No. 3.— BiDGW. Man. N. Am. B. 1887, 5. 

 Dutes auritus BiDOW. Nom. N. Am. B. 18S1, No. 732.— B. B. & B. Water B. N. Am. li, 

 1884. 482. 



