Fam. II. In the PODICIPEDIDAE both sexes are mainly dusky brown or blackish grey above, and silvery white below, often with some white on the wing; so it will only be necessary to note hereafter the distinctive ornaments or bright colours which are invariably lost in winter. _Podicipes fluviatilis_, the Little Grebe or Dabchick, ranging over Europe, Africa, and Asia to the Malay Countries and North Australia, has rich chestnut cheeks, throat, and sides of the neck, horn-coloured bill, and greenish feet. In winter the chestnut fades to buff with a white chin. Count Salvadori[51] considers _P. gularis_ of Australia and Papuasia and {53}_P. tricolor_ of the Moluccas separable, _P. pelzelni_ of Madagascar being hardly so. _P. dominicus_, extending from the southern United States to Patagonia, differs in its black throat. The Little Grebe breeds commonly in Britain, while _P. cristatus_, the Great Crested Grebe or Loon, only nests on our largest waters, covering, however, a wide range in Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. It has a bifurcate crest of brown, a chestnut ruff tipped with black round the cheeks and throat, a red base to the bill and greenish feet. _P. griseigena_, the Red-necked Grebe, which wanders to our shores, but breeds in the north of the Palaearctic and Nearctic Regions, and perhaps occasionally in Morocco, has the foreneck chestnut, a line above the cheeks white, and the base of the bill yellow. Some writers denominate the North American and East Asiatic form, _P. holboelli_. _P. auritus_, the Slavonian Grebe of the sub-Arctic portions of both worlds, has a tuft of golden chestnut feathers on each side of the head, an ample black ruff, rufous chest and flanks, black bill and greenish feet; _P. nigricollis_, the Eared Grebe, of Central and Southern Europe, Africa, temperate Asia, and western North America, has merely golden ear-tufts, with a black chest. Both visit us at certain seasons. Finally, _P. nestor_ inhabits South Australia; _P. rufipectus_ New Zealand; _P. caliparaeus_, _P. rollandi_, and _Aechmophorus major_ America south of Peru and Brazil; _Ae. occidentalis_ western North America; _Podilymbus podiceps_ nearly all the New World: and _Centropelma micropterum_ Lake Titicaca only. The first two have white hair-like filaments on the head, the third and fourth elongated ear-coverts of golden brown or black and white; while _Podilymbus_ is remarkable for its stout whitish bill with median black band and its black throat, _Centropelma_ for its aborted wings and flightless condition. _Podicipes taczanowskii_, of Lake Junin in Peru, differs from _P. caliparaeus_ in its longer and lighter bill and feet, and grey-brown ear-coverts. Grebes in the down are streaked with white or buff on a dusky ground, while some have a naked red space on the crown.