Birds of Britain 



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 ofl'. 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 dis- 

 appear ; 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. 



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