191 



ON THE 



Qaxaxtm of some of % jaw Sfytat* of 

 §irte in % |t«g|lom|oob of ^alistag. 



By the Eev. Arthur P. Morres, Vicar of Britford. 

 (Continued from Vol. xxii., p. 



NATATORES (continued). 



COLYMBIDJE. 



Podiceps Cristatus. " Great Crested Grebe/' We come now to 

 the Divers, so called from their marvellous powers of staying under 

 water in search of their food. None of them is more expert in 

 this respect than the present species. In 1860 the moors around 

 Athelney, in Somerset, were flooded almost the whole summer, the 

 hay rotting in the swath as it was cut, and innumerable kinds of 

 water birds were then to be found on the moor : and amongst others 

 several of the present species were killed and brought to Taunton. 

 Mr. Baker, of Mere, has an immature specimen in his collection 

 which was shot at Norton Ferris, in 1860 by Mr. J. Card, but I 

 have never seen them in our meadows. In fact they are not river 

 birds, requiring larger tracts of water to attract them. They fly- 

 very much better than you would at first sight suppose, and can 

 fly high in the air as well as many of the Duck tribe. At Christ- 

 church they are plentiful in winter plumage, but not often obtained 

 in summer. Hart, however, killed one in full summer plumage in 

 March, 1877, and another later on in the year 1883. 



Podiceps Griseigena. "The Red-necked Grebe/' This bird is 

 also found in the harbour in the winter : and Mr. Baker has a 

 mature bird of this species, killed at Westbury in 1874. There are 

 three birds of this species in Hart's collection, in summer plumage, 

 killed in the district in October, 1876, March, 1877, and February, 



