Length to end of tail 17 1/4 inches, to end of wings 14 1/2, to end of claws 16 1/2; extent of wings 26 1/2; wing from flexure 7 3/4; tail 3 1/2; bill along the back 1 1/12, along the edge of lower mandible 1 1/2; tarsus 1 4/12; middle toe 2, its claw 4/12. Weight 1 1/2 lb.
Male in the second year.
The young male, after the first moult, is greyish-brown on the back and wings, light brownish-grey beneath. The head and neck are of a dull leaden blue, the upper part of the head darker. The white spot before the eye is mottled with grey, the line extending over the eye obscure, and the edging of the occiput faint reddish-brown. The two white marks exist on the sides of the neck, but are merely edged with darker blue; there are slight indications of the white collar, and the band before the wing is marked, but much smaller than in the adult. The quills are dark brown, but the secondaries are not tipped with white, of which there are but slight indications on the scapulars. The upper tail-coverts are blackish, the tail bluish-grey, lighter at the end. The bill is dusky, the feet of a leaden tint.
Male in the third year. Plate CCXCVII. Fig. 2.
After the second moult, the male has greatly improved in colouring, although the tints are not nearly so pure as in the old bird. The hind part of the back is still brown, as are the wing-coverts; the sides are dark brownish-grey, with undulated yellowish-red bars. The white collar is not yet complete, but all the white markings on the neck are edged with black; the fore part of the breast is dull grey, the middle yellowish-grey, spotted with bluish-grey. The white bar on the wing is still wanting; the rump is glossy bluish-black, the tail nearly of the same tint.
Adult Female. Plate CCXCVII. Fig. 3.
The principal colour of the female is greyish-brown, deeper on the head and rump, lighter on the fore neck, and mottled with greyish-white on the breast. The quills are dark brown edged with lighter, the tail blackish-grey. There is a large whitish spot mottled with grey before the eye, and another of a purer white behind the ear. Bill and feet dull bluish-grey. Iris brown.
Length to end of tail 16 inches, to end of wings 13 1/2, to end of claws 15 1/2; extent of wings 24 1/4; wing from flexure 8 1/4; tail 3 1/2; bill along the back 1 10/12, along the edge of lower mandible 1 1/2; tarsus 1 1/4; middle toe 2, its claw 4/12 Weight 1 1/4 lb.
THE RED-NECKED GREBE.
Podiceps rubricollis, Lath.
PLATE CCXCVIII. Male and Young.