GENUS II. PODICEPS, Lath. GREBE.
Bill about the length of the head, or shorter, straight, rather stout, much compressed, tapering, pointed; upper mandible with the dorsal line declinate and more or less convex toward the end, the ridge convex, the sides erect and somewhat convex, the edges sharp and inflected, the tip narrow; nasal groove rather long, extending to nearly half the length of the mandible, feathered at the base; nostrils linear-elliptical, basal, rather small, pervious; lower mandible with the angle long and extremely narrow, the dorsal line ascending and straight, the sides erect and slightly convex, the edges sharp and involute, the tip acute. Head of moderate size, oblong, narrowed before; neck rather long and slender; body long, depressed. Feet short, large, placed close to the extremity of the body; tibia feathered to the joint; tarsus extremely compressed, its anterior edge with a row of small scutella, the sides broadly scutellate, the posterior ridge with a double row of small prominent scales; toes four, first very small, with a posterior membrane, fourth longest, all scutellate, the anterior connected at the base by membranes, and having on both sides an expanded web-like margin, marked with oblique lines. Claws flat, that of the third toe broadest. Plumage very soft and blended, on the lower parts dusky. Wings small acute, curved, the second primary longest, the first little shorter; secondaries short and rounded. Tail a slight tuft of loose feathers, fourteen in number. Tongue slender, trigonal, pointed; œsophagus of moderate width; proventriculus very large, ovate; stomach extremely large, roundish, its muscular coat thin; the epithelium thick, soft, rugous; a small pyloric sac; intestine of moderate length and width; cœca rather long, slender; cloaca very large, globular. Bronchi with the rings entire and ossified.
487. 1. Podiceps cristatus, Lath. Crested Grebe.
Plate CCXCII. Male and Female.
Male with the bill about the length of the head, rather slender, blackish-brown, tinged with carmine; feet greenish-black, tinged with greyish-blue; tail of fourteen feathers; two tufts of elongated feathers on the occiput, and a large frill on the sides and anterior part of the neck; upper part of head and tufts greyish-black, tinged with green, as is the hind part of the ruff, its anterior part being brownish-red; sides of the head and throat white; fore neck white, tinged with brown; breast silvery-white, sides reddish-brown, with dusky streaks; upper parts brownish-black, the feathers edged with lighter, the sides of the neck tinged with reddish, as is the rump; wing-coverts greyish-brown; primary quills brownish-black, middle secondaries, inner webs of their coverts, and outer webs of outer scapulars, white. Female with the occipital feathers a little elongated, but without the ruff; bill dusky green, upper part of head and hind neck blackish-grey; back and wings as in the male, but more tinged with grey; lower parts silvery-white, the sides dusky.
Male, 24, 33.
Not uncommon during autumn and early spring on all the larger streams of the Western Country, as well as on the coast of the Atlantic, from Nova Scotia to Texas. Breeds in the mountainous parts of the Fur Countries, Rocky Mountains, and high latitudes. Migratory.
Podiceps cristatus, Bonap. Syn. p. 417.
Podiceps cristatus, Crested Grebe, Swains. & Rich. F. Bor. Amer. v. ii. p. 410.
Crested Grebe or Gannet, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 250.
Crested Grebe, Podiceps cristatus, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iii. p. 598.
488. 2. Podiceps rubricollis, Lath. Red-necked Grebe.