62 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST 



August 1916, by the end of three weeks or so, two were 

 almost twice the bulk of the others, and these larger birds 

 were much more anxious for food than their smaller and 

 less importunate fellows. Each adult attended to the wants 

 of one small and one large chick, and sometimes the larger 

 youngster had to be pushed aside to allow the smaller to 

 get a fair share. 



When in the down and only a week old, the young can 

 dive if need be, swimming under water with wings and feet. 

 The larger chicks were first seen to dive for food, however, 

 when about five weeks old, by which time the first plumage 

 was beginning to show strongly, and they shared their haul 

 of weeds with their less advanced fellows. Of the two 

 smaller at that time, one was just beginning to show the 

 first plumage, and the other still retained the reddish tint 

 about the head. Six weeks after hatching all the young 

 birds had assumed the first plumage. The disparity in 

 size was still marked, and in the case of the two smaller, the 

 greyish white on the throat and breast was less pure. The 

 parent birds continued to feed them, though the brood were 

 diving freely, and when offered a bunch of weed the young 

 birds called excitedly and hurried to the feast. Feeding 

 was not so frequent now, and the immature birds would sit 

 preening themselves for a quarter of an hour or so at 

 intervals. Two months after hatching, the adults were still 

 providing food for the brood, though three of these were 

 changing to a semi-adult dress and the frontal plate was 

 beginning to show white. At this time (8th October), one 

 adult gave the spring call, the other swam rapidly to it, and 

 the two" " nibbled " one another about the head for a few 

 seconds. The following week one of the young still retained 

 the white on the breast, and the others were in plumage 

 scarcely distinguishable from that of the adults, save for the 

 small size of the frontal plate. On this occasion, one of the 

 adults (it seemed to be the male) was very shy, remaining 

 separate from the female and immature birds, which con- 

 tinued to feed unconcernedly, and the following week it was 

 found that one, probably the male, had departed, leaving the 

 other and the four immature birds, all of which seemed wild. 



