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NORTH AMERICAN GREBES. ‘El 
In breeding plumage the horned grebe has broad, flaring black 
cheek feathers and lateral crests of yellow. The throat is black, 
and the lower neck, breast, and sides are rufous. In fall and winter 
adults and young alike lack the flaring head feathers, being plain 
dusky above and white below. 
Horned grebes are not shy when nesting, but from the nature of 
their haunts are known at this season to comparatively few. During 
fall and winter they are more frequently seen, as they are found on 
open water. Favorable food conditions at times cause them to col- 
lect in small flocks, and on our southern coasts it is common to find 
bands of a dozen or more. Unlike other species, the horned grebes 
when approached in boats often rise and splatter off across the sur- 
face of the water for a hundred yards or more until out of harm’s 
way. If approached a second time they usually disappear beneath 
the surface. When the water is even moderately rough the birds 
are unable to gain sufficient momentum to rise on the wing and must 
perforce take refuge in diving. 
FOOD. 
For a study of the food of the horned grebe 122 stomachs were 
available, taken in all months of the year except July. Most of this 
material, as would be expected, comes from Alaska, Canada, the 
Great Basin, and the eastern half of the United States, for the spe- 
cies is at its maximum abundance in this region. On the Pacific 
coast, Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon are rep- 
resented, but there is no material available from California. In this 
collection 8 stomachs contained feathers alone, and so gave no idea 
of the food habits of this grebe. In the remaining 114, animal food 
formed 99 per cent and vegetable matter 1 per cent. In these, 
feathers from the birds themselves formed 55.5 per cent of the 
stomach contents, but were not considered as food. 
Vegetable food occurred in only six individuals and may be re- 
garded as accidental. It consisted of bits of wood or other rubbish 
in four instances and occasional seeds of ragweed and stick-tight 
(Bidens) in two others. Sand was found in two stomachs. 
Of the animal food, fish remains found in 49 of the 114 stomachs 
formed 34.6 per cent. In other words, fish occurred in 43 per cent 
of the total number of stomachs and amounted to one-third of the 
entire food. With few exceptions the species of fishes identified are 
_ of little or no value. The carp (Cyprinus carpio), a species used as 
food but one of tremendous damage to the propagation of fishes 
much more valuable, occurred once, and other fishes of the same 
family (Cyprinidae) once. Tessellated darters (Boleosoma olm- 
stedi) were eaten by two grebes, and a small eel (Anguwilla) by an- 
cther. Fragments of silvery anchovies (Stolephorus) and silversides 
(Menidia), both small salt-water species and from their glistening 
sides known usually as “ shiners,” were found in two instances. 
The Alaska stickleback (Gasterosteus cataphractus), a salt-water 
form ranging from San Francisco Bay northward, was taken by two 
birds. This fish, known also as the “ salmon killer,” is locally abun- 
dant along the north Pacific coast. In addition to these, the family 
of sculpins (Cottidae), all of them worthless from the human stand- 
point, furnished a large part of the fish eaten by the horned grebe. 
