168 BRITISH SEA BIRDS. 
from those of its congeners. It may be seen 
swimming to and fro, sometimes just outside the 
fringe of rough surf, diving from time to time in 
quest of its food, which at this season is composed 
of fish principally. The nuptial ornaments of 
this Grebe are not so conspicuous as those of 
the preceding species, the dark crests are shorter, 
the tippet is scarcely perceptible, and the lower 
neck and upper breast are rich chestnut. In 
winter plumage this Grebe is best distinguished 
by its large size—next in this respect to the Great 
Crested Grebe—and by the absence of the white 
streak over the eye, which characterises that bird 
then. In April the Red-necked Grebe returns to 
its accustomed inland summer haunts to_ breed. 
These are reed and rush-fringed lakes and ponds. 
Here in the shallows a floating nest of rotten 
vegetation is formed, smaller than that of the pre- 
ceding species, but otherwise closely resembling it. 
Many pairs may be found breeding close together 
—in colonies, so to speak. The four or five 
elliptical shaped eggs are laid in May or June, 
dirty white in colour, chalky in texture. The same 
habit of covering the eggs with weeds, previous 
to leaving them, may also be noted. 
BLACK-NECKED GREBE. 
This bird, the Podzczpes nigricollis of systematists, 
is so rarely met with in the British area, that it 
scarcely requires more than a passing allusion. 
