Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Grebe

by Alfred Newton

GREBE (French Grèbe], the generally accepted name for all the birds of the Family Podicipedidæ,^[1] belonging to the group Pygopodes of Illiger, members of which inhabit almost all parts of the world. Some systematic writers have

Great Crested Grebe.

distributed them into several so-called genera, but, with one exception, these seem to be insufficiently defined, and here it will be enough to allow but two—Latham's Podiceps and the Centropelma of Messrs Sclater and Salvin. Grebes are at once distinguishable from all other Water-birds by their very short body, and the peculiar structure of their feet, which are not only placed far behind, but have the tarsi flat tened and elongated toes furnished with broad lobes of skin. In Europe we have five well-marked species of Podiceps, the commonest and smallest of which is the very well-known Dabchick of our ponds, P. fluviatilis or minor, the Little Grebe of ornithologists, found throughout the British Islands, and with a wide range in the Old World. Next in size are two species known as the Eared and Horned Grebes, the former of which, P. nigricollis, is a visitor from the south, only occasionally showing itself in Britain, while the latter, P. auritus, has a more northern range, breeding plentifully in Iceland, and is a not uncommon winter- visitant. Then there is the larger Red-necked Grebe, P. griseigena, also a northern bird, and a native of the subarctic parts of both Europe and America, while lastly the Great Crested Grebe, P. cristatus, or Gaunt known as the Loon on the meres and broads of East Anglia, and some other parts of England, is also widely spread over both Worlds, and though apparently not found within the tropics, is known in the extreme south as a native of Australia and New Zealand. North America is credited with seven species of Grebes, of which three (P. cristatus, P. griseigena, and P. auritus) are admitted to be specifically inseparable from those already named, and two (P. occidentcdis and P. calif or nicus) appear to be but local forms ; the remaining two (P. domiiiicus and P. ludovicianus) may, however, be accounted good species, and the last differs so much from other Grebes that many systematists make it the type of a distinct genus, Podilymbus. South America seems to possess four or five more species, one of which, the P. micropterus of Mr Gould (Proc. Zool. Society, 1858, p. 220), has been deservedly separated from the genus Podiceps by Messrs Sclater and Salvin (Exot. Ornithology, p. 189, pi. xcv.), owing to the form of its bill, and the aborted condition of its wings, which seem to render it absolutely flightless. Lake Titicaca in Bolivia is, so far as is known at present, its only habitat. Grebes in general, though averse from taking wing, have much greater power of flight than wouhl seem possible on examination of their alar organs, and are capable of prolonged aerial journeys. Their plumage is short and close. Above it is commonly of some shade of brown, but beneath it is invariably white, and so glossy as to be in much request for muff s and the trimming of ladies dresses. Some species are remarkable for the crests or tippets, generally of a golden-chestnut colour, they assume in the breeding season. P. auritus is particu larly remarkable in this respect, and when in its full nuptial attire presents an extraordinary aspect, the head (being surrounded, as it were, by a nimbus or aureole, such as that with which painters adorn saintly characters), reflecting the rays of light, glitters with a glory that passes description. All the species seem to have similar habits of nidification. Water-weeds are pulled from the bottom of the pool, and piled on a convenient foundation, often a setninatant growth of bog-bean (Menyanthes), till they form a large mass, in the centre of which a shallow cup is formed, and the eggs, with a chalky white shell almost equally pointed at each end, are laid the parent covering them, whenever she has time to do so, before leaving the nest. Young Grebes are beautiful objects, clothed with black, white, and brown hair, disposed in streaks, and their bill often brilliantly tinted with orange or yellow. When taken from the nest and placed on dry ground, it is curious to observe the way in which they progress using the wings almost as fore-feet, and suggesting the notion that they must be quadrupeds instead of birds. In water, however, they equal if not surpass their parents in the power of diving, which is a

special accomplishment of all Grebes.

(a. n.)

1. Often, but erroneously, written Podicipidœ. The word Podiceps being a contracted form of Podicipes (cf. Gloger, Journal für Ornithologie, 1854, p. 430, note), a combination of podex, podicis, and pes, pedis, its further compounds must be in accordance with its derivation.