THE CRESTED GREBE. 309 



paddling on the water for several yards before they rise, and fly several 

 times round a pond of thirty or forty yards before they attain the level of 

 the tree-tops, for they never fly through the woods. When once high in 

 the air, they move in a direct course and with speed towards some other 

 pond or the nearest river. I do not remember to have ever met with a bird 

 of this species on a narrow creek or bayou, or on muddy waters; and on the 

 Ohio's rising I have observed that they abandon the river and betake 

 themselves to the clear ponds of the interior. 



By the 1st of October, scarcely any difference can be perceived between 

 the young and the old birds with respect to plumage, only the latter have 

 the under surface of the wings still dashed with the reddish colour of the 

 summer dress. I am not able to say from observation how long the young 

 are in attaining maturity; but European writers assert that they take three 

 or four years. When these birds leave the southern waters about the 

 beginning of April, the old already shew their summer head-dress, but 

 seldom have it so perfect as is represented in the plate. 



The food of this species consists of fishes, aquatic insects, and small 

 reptiles, together with the seeds of water plants. Dr. Richardson states 

 that these birds are abundant in all the secluded lakes of the mountainous 

 districts of the Fur Countries, and adds that their nests are formed of a large 

 quantity of grass, placed among reeds and carices, and rise and fall with the 

 water. Mr. Yarrell has kindly furnished me with specimens of the eggs, 

 which are generally four, measure two inches and a quarter in length by one 

 inch and a half, have an oval form, and a smooth surface, of a uniform 

 yellowish-white colour. 



Podiceps cristatos, Bonap. Syn., p. 417. 



Podiceps cristatos, Crested Grebe, Swains, and Rich. P. Bor. Amer., vol. ii. p. 410. 



Crested Grebe or Gannet, Nutt. Man., vol. ii. p. 250. 



Crested Grebe, Podiceps cristatus, Aud. Orn. Biog., vol. iii. p. 595. 



Male, 24, 33. 



Not uncommon during autumn and early spring on all the larger streams 

 of the Western Country, as well as on the coast of the Atlantic, from Nova 

 Scotia to Texas. Breeds in the mountainous parts of the Fur Countries, 

 Rocky Mountains, and high latitudes. Migratory. 



Adult Male in spring. 



Bill about the length of the head, straight, compressed, tapering. Upper 

 mandible with the dorsal line straight, slightly declinate towards the tip, the 

 ridge convex, the sides convex, the edges sharp and inflected, the tip rather 

 sharp. Nasal groove rather wide, extending to nearly half the length of the 



