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WESTERN BIRD GUIDE
Birds of the Rockies and West to the Pacific
ILLUSTRATIONS BY
CHESTER A. REED, B.S.; HARRY F. HARVEY; R. I. BRASHER
Garden City New York
DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY
1917
Copyright, 1913, by
CHAS. K. REED, WORCESTER, MASS.
The numbers and names used in this book are those adopted by the AmericanOrnithologists’ Union, and are known both in this country and abroad. Thelengths given are averages; our small birds often vary considerably and maybe found either slightly larger or smaller than those quoted.
On some of the pages a number of sub-species are mentioned. Sub-species oftencause confusion, because they are usually very similar to the original; they can bestbe identified by the locality in which they are found.
The nests and eggs are described, as they often lead to the identity of a bird.We would suggest that you neatly, and with ink, make a cross against the name ofeach bird that you see in your locality, and also that you write at the top of thepage the date of the arrival and departure of each bird as you note it; these datesvary so much in different localities that we have not attempted to give them. Asmany will not wish to soil their books we would suggest that they have a leather-coveredcopy for the library and a cloth one for pocket use.
BIRDS OF THE ROCKIES AND WEST TO THE PACIFIC
DIVING BIRDS—Order Pygopodes.
GREBES—Family Colymbidæ.
WESTERN GREBE.
This is the largest of the grebe family. In summer the backof the neck is black, but in winter it is gray like the back.
Nest.—A floating mass of decayed rushes, sometimes attachedto the upright stalks; 2 to 5 pale bluish white eggs are laid,usually much nest stained (2.40 × 1.55). Breeding in colonies.
Range.—Western North America, from the Dakotas andManitoba to the Pacific, and north to southern Alaska.
HOLBOELL GREBE.
This is next to the Western Grebe in size, both being larg