BIRDS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 
3 
tured, identified and preserved in onr commonwealth, and these, with 
perhaps two or three exceptions, have been secured on the Susquehanna 
and Allegheny rivers. In the spring of 1888 Mr. George P. Friant, re¬ 
siding at Scranton, Pennsylvania, obtained a fine adult male of this 
species which had killed itself by flying through the glass in a green¬ 
house of one of his neighbors. Mr. James S. Nease, a careful collector, 
residing in Washington, Pennsylvania, has observed this bird in his 
county only as a rare winter visitor. 
Mr. August Koch, the well-known Lycoming county (Penna.) natur¬ 
alist, in a letter of June 26, 1889, addressed to me, says, in reference to 
Holboell’s Grebe, “ I know of three instances only, when taken in our 
locality (yet it may occur often). The first time in winter about twenty 
years ago; next in the spring of 1886, when nine of these birds were 
noticed in a flock and several taken. My specimen is a male in spring 
dress. Another male in full winter plumage was kindly left to my dis¬ 
position by Mr. Charles H. Eldon; it was taken the winter of 1888.” 
Mr. L. M. Turner, of Arctic fame, in his “ Contributions to the Natural 
History of Alaska,” remarks that “the Eskimo name of this Grebe is 
E-ta-td-tuk, from its note ta-ta-ta .” The stomachs of two of these birds 
examined by me contained principally sand, blades of grass, small roots 
and feathers. 
Colymbus auritus Linn. 
Horned Grebe; Dipper Duck ; Little Hell Diver; Little Fish Duck. 
Description ( Plate 2). 
Adult. —Bill black, with yellow or whitish tip, about 1 inch long and considerably 
shorter than head ; iris carmine, witli a fine inner circle of white ; crests and ruft's 
well developed ; head and ruff glossy black (in some specimens of a greenish hue). 
A brownish-yellow band, darkest in color between eyes and bill, runs over eyes and 
unites with long occipital tufts (horns) of same color ; plumage of upper parts dark 
brown, margined with white and gray; secondaries chiefly white; primaries 
brownish-gray; greater part of neck, upper breast and also portions of the sides 
reddish-brown, rest of sides dusky ; lining of the wings white ; lower parts silvery- 
white ; legs brownish, yellow or greenish on inside. 
Young.— Bill blackish-brown ; iris yellowish ; ruffs and crests slightly developed ; 
upper parts brownish-gray ; feathers on back more or less edged with white or 
grayish ; chin, throat, sides of head white ; abdomen and breast silvery-white ; tarsi 
and feet brownish. Length about 14 inches; extent about 25 inches. 
Habitat. —Northern hemisphere. Breeds from northern United States northward. 
This species is recorded as quite a common winter resident through¬ 
out the United States, and although sometimes found nesting within 
our northern limits, it retires chiefly north of the United States during 
the breeding period (middle of May to middle of August). Audubon 
{Birds of America) states that he found, in Ohio, near Lake Erie, in the 
month of July, nests containing eggs in which incubation was well 
advanced. Dr. Coues {Birds of the Northivest) mentions that he has 
found it breeding at various points in northern Dakota, where, in June 
