408 
THE LIVING WORLD. 
water. They are remarkable for their expertness and quickness as divers, and 
though usually swimming well on the surface can, when frightened, so flatten 
themselves out as to allow 
nothing but their necks and 
the ridge of their backs to ap¬ 
pear. 
The Golden-crested Grebe 
(Colymbus cristatus ) is European 
in its habitat. Its fan-shaped 
cowl and neck valance which, 
though long in coniparison with 
the size of its head, reaches but 
a small way on its long neck, 
the white coloring about it£ eyes 
and its beak give to it the ap¬ 
pearance of having combined an 
owl’s head, a crane’s neck and 
a grouse’s body. The coloring 
of the golden-crested grebe is 
dark brown on the top of the 
head, white on the cheeks and 
around the eyes, and chestnut 
on the ruff. On the back the 
undermost feathers are white 
and the outer ones a chestnut 
brown and both have a satin 
GOLDEN-CRESTED GREBE. sheen. ^ neck> thrQat and 
abdomen are white, and the legs green on the outer side and yellow on the 
inner part. It swims 
about with its duck¬ 
lings now by its side 
and again on its back. 
The Little Grebe, 
or Dabchick ( Colym¬ 
bus minor or Podilybus 
podiceps ), is found 
on the eastern coast 
of North America, 
but lives on inland 
ponds and rivers. In 
comparison with other 
grebes it is a pigmy, 
resembling a fair sized 
young gosling. It 
prefers a roomy dwell¬ 
ing so that its nest 
looks as if intended 
for quite a number of ducks fully as large as the mother. These nests 
will often be found amongst the pond-lilies which serve as material, founda¬ 
tion and landscape for the foreground. 
FLOATING NESTS OF THE LITTLE GREBE. 
