AMERICAN EARED GREBE
4. Colymbus nigricollis californicus. 13 inches.
This is a western species rarely found east of the Mississippi. In summer, it differs from the last in having the entire neck black; in winter it can always be distinguished from the [Horned Grebe] by its slightly upcurved bill, while the upper mandible of the last is convex. In powers of swimming and diving, grebes are not surpassed by any of our water birds. They dive at the flash of a gun and swim long distances before coming to the surface; on this account they are often called “devil divers.” They fly swiftly when once a-wing, but their concave wings are so small that they have to patter over the water with their feet in order to rise.
Nest.—They nest in colonies, often in the same sloughs with [Horned] and [Western Grebes], laying their eggs early in June. The 4 to 7 eggs are dull white, usually stained brownish, and cannot be separated from those of the last.
Range.—Western N. A., breeding from Texas to Manitoba and British Columbia; winters in western U. S. and Mexico.
