characterize the sides and flanks in summer ; but as my specimens were all procured in February, 

 this was only to be expected." I do not find it recorded from elsewhere in India, nor does it 

 appear to inhabit Siberia ; but Pere David met with it at Pekin, where it is rarer than the Little 

 Grebe ; Mr. Swinhoe states that it frequently occurs at Amoy in winter ; and it has been recorded 

 by Mr. Swinhoe, Captain Blakiston, and Mr. Whitely from Japan, where examples have been 

 obtained both in winter and in summer dress. 



In America the present species is replaced by a very closely allied but fairly separable form, 

 Podiceps californicus, Heerm. (Proc. Phil. Acad. 1854, p. 179), which differs in having the twelve 

 outer quills black as well as the inner secondaries, whereas in Podiceps nigricollis the sixth quill 

 is marked with white, each succeeding one having more white, the short secondaries being pure 

 white. 



In habits this Grebe does not differ much from the Horned Grebe and the Little Grebe ; and, 

 like these, it is essentially an aquatic species, and passes most of its time swimming and diving, 

 in both of which it excels greatly. It is very shy and difficult of approach ; but when danger 

 threatens it will not take wing, but seeks safety by diving and hiding amongst the aquatic 

 herbage. When close pressed it will hide under the water near the shore, keeping only its beak 

 and the upper part of its head above the surface, and is then not easily discovered. During the 

 breeding-season, and also on passage, it is usually met with on inland sheets of water which are 

 overgrown with aquatic herbage ; but in winter it resorts to the sea-coasts. Its food consists of 

 small fish, frogs, aquatic insects of various kinds, &c. &c, which it usually procures by diving; 

 but the insects are often picked off the leaves and stems of the water-plants. Although it is 

 seldom seen on dry land, it walks easily in an erect position, and can even run, though not very 

 swiftly. 



It breeds on inland lakes and ponds, selecting those where it can conceal itself in case of 

 need, and makes a clumsy bulky nest like the larger Grebes ; but it places it either on a wet 

 tussock or else amongst denser herbage than they do, and it is seldom found floating free on the 

 water. Mr. Benzon informs me that, according to Dr. Hejberg, nests obtained in Denmark 

 were not floating amongst the rushes, but were on tussocks on the edges of the lake, though in 

 places where the water close to the edge of the nest was deep and clear. The nests were 

 chiefly made of moss ; and when the female left the nest she covered her eggs with the moss. In 

 Southern Europe and North Africa the nests are said to be frequently placed amongst those of 

 other marsh-breeding species ; and Herr von Homeyer found many nests on Lake Halloula, in 

 Algeria, amongst those of the Whiskered Tern. The eggs of the Grebes were always covered 

 with rotten rushes and reeds, which, from fermentation, generated a considerable amount of 

 heat; and thereby incubation continued even during a prolonged absence of the parent bird. 



The eggs, four or five in number, are yellowish white, with a faint greenish tinge, the shell 

 being covered with a chalky substance. When fresh laid they are clean ; but, from contact with 

 the fermenting mass of herbage of which the nest is constructed, they soon become soiled, and 

 I have seen them stained dark brown. Those in my collection vary from lf^ by 1^% to If § by 

 l- 4 % inch in size, and are rather elongated oval in shape. 



Both parents incubate ; and should one be killed during the time of incubation, the other 

 will continue sitting and will rear the young. 



