History of British animals - University of Guam Marine Laboratory

Podiceps. BIRDS. PALMIPIDES. 131orange. Above and below the eye, a naked space of black skin. Irides grey.Tail short, of 16 feathers. Female siinilar..—Nest in deserted rabbit-holes, orburrows which the bird forms. Egg 1, white. Young have the markings ofthe bill less distinct Mr " PennantTremarks, The size of the bills of thesebirds varies ; those of Priestholme Isle are one inch and three quarters long ;and the base of the upper mandible one inch broad ; but, in the birds from theIsle of Man, these proportions are much less." Have we two species ?Gen. XCIII. PODICEPS. Grebe.—Bill straight, produced,Nostrils pervious.No tail.Plumage offirm, pointed.the belly close, with a silvery gloss.206. P. cristatus. Crested Grebe. — Bill longer than thehead; from the nostrils to the tip 17 or 18 lines ; red, white atthe tip.222— Colymbus major, Will. Orn. 256—Col. crist., Linn. Syst. i. Tippetand Great Crested Grebes, Perm. Brit. Zool. ii. 496—P. crist., Temm.Orn. ii. 717 E, Greater Loon, Arsfoot, Gargoose, Gaunt; W,Gwyach.— Breeds in England.Length 21, breadth 30 inches; weight 2J pounds. Bill 2\ inches. Feetblack, yellowish on the inside. Irides and lores crimson. Face white. Crown,nape, and ear-crests glossy black, the latter tinged with brown. Beneathwhite. Above dusky brown. Primaries dusky secondaries white, except;the two first, which are dusky. Female less, with a smaller crest, and dullercolours—Nest in marshes, of aquatic plants, and made so as to float.Eggs4, white, of the size of those of a pigeon. Young without the crest, the facewith zig-zag lines of a dusky colour. In this state, it is the Col. urinator ofLinnaeus—This species breeds in Shropshire and Lincolnshire. It seems tobe stationary even in Zetland. One which I examined, 13th January 1809,had the stomach full of gammari.207. P. riibricolUs. (Latham.) Red-necked Grebe.— Billthe length of the head; from the nostrils to the tip 11 lines;yellow at the base ;tip black.Beivick's Brit. Birds, — ii. 152. Temm. Orn. ii. 720. A winter visitant.Length 1 7 inches ;weight 23 ounces. Bill 2 inches long. Legs dusky,yellowish on the inside. Irides hazeL Front, crown, nape, and hind-neck,black ; cheeks and throat grey fore-neck and breast reddish-chesnut ; ; bellywhite, the sides with dusky spots back and ; wings black ;the secondaries andbase of the wing white. Nape with a short crest. Female similar—Nest likethe preceding. Young with the throat and cheeks white ; the fore-neck grey ;the sides and hind-neck dusky This species, which occurs both in Englandand Scotland, seems to have been met with, hitherto, only in the winter season.Pennant was inclined to consider it as a variety of the Crested Grebe.208. P. cornutus. Horned Grebe.— Bill stout, shorter thanthe head, compressed throughout from the nostrils to the ;tip6 or 7 lines. Iris double.Col. major cristatus et cornutus, Will. Orn. 257—Sclavonian Grebe,Mont. Orn. Diet. Suppt P. corn. Temm. Orn. ii. 721—Resident andcommon.Length 14, breadth 25 inches. Bill black, point red, and the oiuline slopesregularly. Feet black, grey within. Irides crimson, bordered and shaded withi2