caying vegetable matter, and ■ felt© soil "'from the 3 feet of the
bird ; by hatching-time they are frequently a dirty.* clavyf-
brown. The female -is very careful of-h^ffeggs1, > and i seldom
leaves them 'without covering them over with soïneolóf thë
vegetable substances^by which she is «surrounded, and I qulft
agree with Mr. Selby, that the obj%et in thus -cöveriïig- the
eggs is concealment, and not for the purpose oftpreserviSgr
temperature during incubation. The -young when first hateh-
edr-are dark brown on thè head,«, meek^ and- upper ^sèrfa'©©,1
streaked longitudinally with Aight-qyéldwish-bro'wn ©hs-the'
neck" and back,, the under sttrfaee of the body silvery-white.
They take to., the water very.oseon,' swimmkgi^abaurwith th e -
parents, in pursuit of aquatic ih&efets and o t n i é ï or
diving to avoid danger witlrull. thebapparent fa&dffikyatM. confidence
that usually attend long/praetfce;, ■
The LittleiCprebd-us-eommon and reSident^bin Trelaindyvand
too universally distributed in locaMtics> suited-4(Mts habits-in
England,^ to nsmder particular enumeration tiftp&ty} V! [n
Scotland this -small species is --iot. cdns|dered^öibe^o plentiful
as-with its iïutöw south. Mr. ilf f c it
was met with occasionally upon the- smaller mChs of'L&uïhfer-
landshire during the natural-history- excursion-through that
county in the summed offl834. I f is found also in Orkney
mid in Shetland,
M. Nilsson considers the Little Grebe tprbe r a tlilS I ^ f n ’
Sweden; it is -found in some other parts of the north of
Europe, and in Germany, but it,is nob-common, M. Tem-
minck says, either.in Holland or -France. It is said by'M.
Schulz to be .abundant Óö thé ponds » and lakes of Switzerland
all tfajeyCar; it is found also in Provenpe and in I t a l ^ b
Our Little Grebe is included in catalogues, of -the birds of
some parts óf. India; but,.according to M. Temminckpthe
small species found in Africa and at the Philippine Islands is'
not identical with the Podiceps minor of European authors i
nor is this species found in North America.
The adult bird in summer, represented in the illustration
byithef- which is swimming, has the beak black, the tip
of ifelight horn‘.colour, the upper mandible straight, the under
pfcndible brought to a point by a line directed obliquely upwards
from thd s^Qphysds, -or junction-e# the two portions ;
the' soft part of both mandibles, forming the angle at the gape,
Vellowi-sh-wli'i-te-f'- • Irides. reddish-brown ; head, back of the
.neck, and all the/nlpper surface o f the body, very dark brown,
almost black;' tbef secondary quill-feathers white; but these
are n©trseen' when-the wingmarekclo’sed; chin black ; cheeks,
sic|&|yj$cL front o f the upper part of the^tneck reddish-chest-
nufjlf pnder?'surface - of the boay dull greyish-white ; sides
■under the arfd th'^- flanks dusky-brown; legs and toes
dark ^greenish-brown. The whole length-nine inches and a
half. From, the - carpakljoink, to the bud of the wing four
Snohes^iand |o^| tqultfc.eri' In this" state of plumage it is the
"Po'dicep^ "Ae&r*d??feW5^o^Black-chin Grebe of authors,- which
|iS n o o n l y the summer appearance o f Podiceps
ifyinsfp, the! LittleMlrebe..
Aelultsbirds^titwihter have the under mandible lighter in
colour than the'upper-; fbef'latter being dark brown ; head,
b.ackof ihetneck>'and all the1 upper surface of the body, clove-
brown ; some- df the primary quill-feathers, as well as the
-secondaries, greyish-white, but -only seen when the wing is
/extended ; chin white5; front of the neck ash-brown ; breast
and jfe.elly .shining greyish-whites; sides under the wing; and
the flanks, ash-brown. -Young birds of the year, in their
first winter, have the beak yellow-brown ; the Bead and back
, o£a stiH lighter brown colour than did birds in winter; chin
wl-ite ; sides’of the neck pale wood-brown ; under surface of
-the body and the sides clouded with brown, on a ground
colour of greyish-white.
■ The plumage of the very young chick has been already
noticed.