Cass Il. GREAT CRESTED GREBE. 
131 
Tuts species weighs two pounds and a half. Its Descrre- 
length is twenty-one inches; the breadth thirty. 
The bill is two inches and a quarter long; 
red at the base; black at the point; between 
the bill and the eyes is a stripe of black naked 
skin; the irides are of a fine pale red; the 
tongue is a third-part shorter than the bill, slen- 
der, hard at the end, and a little divided; on 
the head is a large dusky crest, separated in 
the middle. The cheeks and throat are sur- 
rounded with a long pendent ruff, of a bright 
tawny color, edged with black; the chin is 
white; from the bill to the eye is a black line, 
and above that a white one; the hind part of 
the neck, and the back are of a sooty hue; the 
rump, for it wants a tail, is covered with long soft 
down. The covert feathers on the second and 
third joints of the wing, and the under coverts 
are white ; all the other wing feathers, except the 
secondaries, are dusky, those being white; the 
breast and belly are of a most beautiful silvery 
white, glossy as sattin; the plumage under the 
wings is dusky, blended with tawny; the out- 
side of the legs, and the bottom of the feet are 
dusky; the inside of the legs, and the toes of a 
pale green. 
K 2 
TION. 
