Genus PODICEPS.
Ge n . C h ar . Bill len g th en ed , strong, slig h tly compressed, straig h t, and pointed. Nostrils
lateral, basal, linear, p ierc ed in th e middle o f th e n asal fosse ; space b e tw e en th e c o rn e r o f
th e b ill an d th e ey e naked. Wings sh o rt an d concave. Tail none. Legs placed a t th e
p o ste rio r e x trem ity o f th e b o d y , th e tibioe b e in g inclosed w ith in th e in teg um en ts o f the
ab d omen . Tarsi m u ch compressed. Feet consisting o f fo u r toes, th re e before an d one
beh in d ; th e f ro n t ones m u ch flattened, a n d each fu rn ish ed with a b ro ad membrane. Nails
larg e , flat, an d b road. Plumage soft, down y , an d thick, with a silky lustre.
G R E A T C R E S T E D GREBE.
Podiceps cristatus, Lath.
Le Grebe huppé.
T he Podiceps cristatus is not only the largest of all the European species of its genus, but may be regarded
as one of the most typical examples. It is a native o f the British Islands as well as of all the temperate
portions of continental Europe, everywhere frequenting lakes, large ponds, the mouths of rivers, or the
borders of the sea. In these situations it remains during the greater part of the year, eluding pursuit by its
extraordinary powers of diving, and capability of remaining submerged beneath the surface of the water. We
have also received numerous examples from Asia and Africa, which proved to be strictly identical with
European specimens.
The Plate represents a young bird of the year, and an adult during the season of incubation, at which
period it assumes the rich ornamental crest and tippet which are then so conspicuous. It is the immature
bird which is described by the older writers as the Tippet Grebe, and which so nearly represents the adults
in their winter dress, as to render any further description unnecessary ; a mistake which modem ornithologists
have rectified.
The full or red stage of plumage, in which the frill and crest appear, is not acquired until the third year,
and even then, in its greatest luxuriance, is only the ornament o f the season of pairing and incubation, the
elongated plumes o f the cheeks and head being lost, as we suspect, on the approach of winter. There is
another peculiarity common to this and the rest of the Grebes which requires notice ; we allnde to the
circumstance of the stomach being found after death commonly filled With a mass of feathers from the breast,
but whether swallowed for the purpose of assisting the powers o f digestion or not, it is impossible to
conjecture. The nest is composed o f masses of decayed aquatic vegetables, secured amidst the herbage on
the margin of the water, with the variations of which it rises or falls. The eggs are three or four in number,
of a greenish white stained with brown. Their food consists of fish, Crustacea, and aquatic insects.
The plumage of this species may be thus described : Crown of the head and occipital tuft or ear-feathere
deep greyish black ; the frill black at its extreme edge, and rich chestnut throughout the greater part of the
rest of its length, gradually fading off into the white of the cheeks and throat ; the whole of the upper
plumage brownish black, with a white bar across the wings ; the under surface silvery white, becoming
rufous on the flanks ; the tarsus and toes dark olive green on :tfe upper side, on the under side pale yellow ;
bill dark horn colour ; irides red.
In winter the plumage resembles that of the summer, except that the richly coloured frill and elongated
ear-feathers are wholly wanting. The sexes at either season offer no external differences in the plumage.
The figures in the Plate are somewhat less than the natural size.