THE BIRDS OF ORDER PYGOPODES. DIVING BIRDS. SUBORDER PODICIPEDES. GREBES AND LOONS. GENUS COLYMBUS LINN. SUBGENUS COLYMBUS. COLYMBUS HOLBELLII (REINH.). *1. Holball's Grebe. (2)† Tarsus about four-fifths the middle toe and claw; bill little shorter than tarsus; crests and ruff moderately developed. Length, about 18; wings, 7-8; bill, 13 to nearly 2; tarsus, 3; middle toe and claw, 2. Adult:-Front and sides of neck rich brownish-red; throat and sides of head ashy, whitening where it joins the dark color of the crown, the feathers slightly ruffed; top of head with its slight occipital crest, upper parts generally, and wings dark brown, the feathers of the back paler edged; primaries brown; part of inner quills white; lower parts pale silvery-ash, the sides watered or obscurely mottled, sometimes obviously speckled with dusky; bill black, more or less yellow at base. The young may be recognized by these last characteristics, joined with the peculiar dimensions and proportions. HAB. —North America at large, including Greenland. Also Eastern Siberia, and southward to Japan. Breeds in high latitudes, migrating south in winter. Nest, a floating clump of vegetable material fastened to the reeds in shallow water. Eggs, two to five, rough-dull white, shaded with greenish. In Ontario, the Red-necked Grebe is only a transient visitor, its summer home being far to the north of this province, and its winterquarters to the south. It breeds abundantly along the borders of the Yukon River in Alaska, and has also been found by Macoun so engaged on the Waterhen River and south end of Waterhen Lake. * Current number. + Number in American Ornithologists' Union "Check List." Holboll's has the habit peculiar to other members of the Grebe family of covering its eggs with vegetable matter when it has occasion to be away from the nest, so that incubation goes on during the absence of the mother-bird. The migrations of the species extend across the Province, for it is reported as a visitor in spring and fall at Ottawa, Hamilton, London and the Detroit River. The visits are always short, and the manners of the birds while here are shy and retiring. For many years the young of this species was described as the Crested Grebe, owing to the close resemblance it bears to the British bird of that name. Dr. Brewer was the first to point out the error, which is now corrected in all modern works on American Ornithology. Tarsus about equal to the middle toe without its claw; bill much shorter than the head, little more than half the tarsus, compressed, higher than wide at the nostrils, rather obtuse; crests and ruffs highly developed. Small, length about 14; extent, 24; wing, 6 or less; bill, about; tarsus, 14. Adult:Above, dark brown, the feathers paler edged; below, silvery-white, the sides mixed dusky and reddish; most of the secondaries white; fore neck and upper AMERICAN EARED GREBE. 27 breast brownish-red; head glossy black, including the ruff; a broad band over the eye, to and including occipital crests, brownish-yellow; bill black, yellowtipped; the eye fiery-red. The young differ as in other species, but always recognizable by the above measurements and proportions. HAB.-Northern hemisphere. Breeds from the northern United States northward. Nest, a floating mass of vegetable material fastened to the reeds or rushes in shallow water. Eggs, two to seven, whitish, shaded with greenish-blue. th, Generally distributed, breeding in all suitable places throughout Ontario, notably at St. Clair Flats. The nest is so completely isolated, that the young when hatched may be said to tumble out of the shell into the water. The birds arrive in spring, as soon as the ice begins to break up, and remain quite late in the fall, individuals being occasionally seen on Lake Ontario during the winter. The Grebes upon land are the most awkward of birds, but in the water they are surpassed by none in the swiftness and grace of their movements. One of the accomplishments possessed by this species is the ability, when alarmed, to sink under water without leaving so much as a ripple to mark where it has gone down, the point of the bill being last to disappear. It has a wide breeding range, having been found by Dr. Bell at Fort George, on the east side of James' Bay, and also at Fort Severn and York Factory, on the west coast of Hudson's Bay. Nelson says of it, in the "Birds of Alaska": "Like the preceding, this handsome species occurs along the eastern shore of the Behring Sea in very small numbers in the breeding season, but is not rare in autumn. It is also a common summer resident along the Yukon, and occurs rarely on the Commander Islands.” COLYMBUS NIGRICOLLIS CALIFORNICUS (HEERM.). 3. American Eared Grebe. (4) Adult male:-Long ear tufts of rich, yellowish brown; head and neck all round, black; upper parts, grayish-black; sides, chestnut; lower parts, silvery gray; primaries, dark chestnut; secondaries, white, dusky at the base; length, 13 inches. Young similar, the ear tufts wanting, and the colors generally duller. HAB.-Northern and western North America, from the Mississippi Valley westward. The nest and eggs cannot be distinguished from those of the preceding species. I mention this as an Ontario species on the authority of Dr. Garnier, of Lucknow, Bruce Co., who informs me that a specimen was sent to him in the flesh from Colpoy's Bay, as being something different from those usually seen at that point. It was too far gone for preservation when received, but the Doctor, who has long been an ardent collector, assures me that he is quite satisfied of the correctness of his identification. This species is a comparatively new acquaintance to American ornithologists, for although described by Audubon, it was not found by him. It is now known to breed in Texas, Kansas, Illinois, Dakota, and Colorado; and Macoun reports it breeding abundantly in the prairie pools of the North-West, so that we need not be surprised if a straggler is now and then wafted a little way out of its ordinary course. Length, 12 to 14; wing, about 5; bill, 1 or less; tarsus. 14. Adult:-Bill bluish, dusky on the ridge, encircled with a black bar; throat with a long black patch; upper parts blackish-brown; primaries ashy-brown; secondaries ashy and white; lower parts silky white, more or less mottled or obscured with dusky; the lower neck in front, fore breast and sides, washed with rusty. Young lacking the throat-patch and peculiar marks of the bill, otherwise not particularly different; in a very early plumage with the head curiously striped. HAB.-British Provinces southward to Brazil, Buenos Ayres and Chili, including West Indies and the Bermudas, breeding nearly throughout its range. Nest, a little floating island of withered reeds and rushes mixed with mud, fastened to the aquatic plants, raised two or three inches above water. Eggs, five to seven, whitish, clouded with green. The Dab Chick is not quite so numerous as the Horned Grebe, neither is it so hardy, being a little later in arriving in spring, and disappearing in the fall at the first touch of frost. It is generally distributed, and is the only one of the family which breeds in Hamilton Bay, where it may often be seen in the inlets in summer accompanied by its young with their curiously striped necks. From its small size and confiding manners it is not much disturbed, but if alarmed it has a convenient habit of sinking quietly under water, not to reappear till danger is past. |