THE GREBES. 



203 



they cannot walk, but creep, so to speak ; for they must hold them- 

 selves nearly upright, supported on the croup, the toes and the tarsi 

 being extended laterally. But ungraceful as they are on shore, so 

 much greater is their elegance on the water. They are covered with 

 a close warm down, so close and so lustrous that muffs are made 

 from their breast. 



M. Noury, director of the Museum of Natural History at Elbceuf, 

 who has carefully studied the habits of the Grebes, relates of the 

 Great Crested Grebe, that its nest is a perfect raft, which floats upon 



Fig. 80.— Auk. 



the surface of our ponds and lakes. It is a mass of thick stems of 

 aquatic herbs closely woven together ; and as these materials contain 

 a considerable quantity of air in their numerous cells, and various 

 gases being engendered in decomposition, these aeriform supporters 

 render the nest lighter than the water. In this improvised ship, and 

 upon this humid bed, the female Grebe silently sits and hatches her 

 progeny. But if anything unforeseen disturbs her security, this wild 

 bird plunges one foot into the water, which she employs as an oar 

 to transport her dwelling from the threatened danger. 



Grebes are inhabitants of the old and new Continents. Among 

 the European species may be noticed the Crested Grebe (Podiceps 



