Birds of the Rockies and West to the Pacific
Diving Birds — Order Pygopodes — Grebes — Family Colymbidæ
Western Grebe
1. Æchmophorus occidentalis. 25 to 29 inches.
This is the largest of the grebe family. In summer the back of the neck is black, but in winter it is gray like the back.
Nest.—A floating mass of decayed rushes, sometimes attached to 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 and Manitoba to the Pacific, and north to southern Alaska.