The eggs are laid close to the margin of some small tarn or on an islet in a large loch, but the former situation is the one preferred; they are elongate and olive brown, spotted with umber. The young leave the nest as soon as they are hatched, but they are not very strong divers at first and receive all their food from their parents; in fact this species often nests on ponds destitute of fish, and journeys several miles to the sea or large loch daily for its food. If the nest be approached the sitting bird glides off and dives without a ripple, reappearing again some way off. The note is a loud and mournful “kark, kark, kakera.” In winter the adult is brown on the back, spotted with small white spots. The under parts are pure white, and head and neck, on which the feathers are very downy, are greyish brown on the crown and nape and white on the chin and throat. In summer the white spots on the back disappear; the crown and nape are slate grey streaked with black; the sides of the head and neck are pale grey and there is a longitudinal patch of chestnut down the fore-neck. The sexes are alike in plumage. The young bird in winter may be distinguished by the spots on the back being longer and tending to form arrow-shaped markings, and the feathers of the vent have narrow brown margins. Length 24 in.; wing 11·2 in. [Illustration: RED-THROATED DIVER _Colymbus septentrionalis_ Adult in summer (right). Young (left)] THE GREAT CRESTED GREBE Podicipes cristatus (Linnæus) In the course of these pages we have often had to lament the extermination or decrease of many species, so that it is a real pleasure to have to record that a fine species like the present has increased abundantly of late years. This has been largely brought about by very strict protection, and although still local, there are many places where it is now common, and in Scotland it breeds on several lochs as far north as Aberdeenshire. In Ireland also it nests in several localities. It is practically a resident and may be found with us at all times of the year, but after the breeding season the majority leave their summer haunts and may be found in the estuaries and bays along the coast. The nest is a large floating mass of decaying vegetation generally well hidden among thick reeds, though occasionally it is placed in the open. The eggs, usually four in number, are yellowish white when first laid, but soon become stained to a dirty brown from contact with the decaying vegetable matter with which they are always covered when the sitting bird leaves the nest. The young when first hatched are dark brown, longitudinally striped with white; they are carefully tended by both their parents, who often carry them on their backs. The food consists of fish, crustaceans, and any other living food which may be found.