HOLBŒLL GREBE
2. Colymbus holbœlli. 19 inches.
This is next to the [Western Grebe] in size, both being much larger than any of our others. In summer, they are very handsomely marked with a reddish brown neck, silvery white cheeks and throat, and black crown and crest, but in winter they take on the usual grebe dress of grayish above and glossy white below. Because of their silky appearance and firm texture, grebe breasts of all kinds have been extensively used in the past to adorn hats of women, who were either heedless or ignorant of the wholesale slaughter that was carried on that they might obtain them.
Nest.—Of decayed rushes like that of the last. Not in as large colonies; more often single pairs will be found nesting with other varieties. Their eggs average smaller than those of the last species (2.35 × 1.25).
Range.—North America, breeding most abundantly in the interior of Canada, and to some extent in the Dakotas. Winters in the U. S., chiefly on the coasts.
