406 THE GREBES 



of water in England, with the exception of the Devonian Peninsula, the Lake 



. district, 1 Durham, Northumberland, and Kent, while it has only bred exception- 

 '* .* t * 



'' ally in Essex. In Wales it nests in Glamorgan, Brecon, Flint, Montgomery, and 



: "/. . Anglesey ; and in Scotland, though absent from Tweed, it has bred in Solway and 

 at many localities in Clyde and Forth, north to the Tay area. In Ireland it is found 

 nesting on most of the principal loughs, in some of them plentifully, but avoids 

 those in which the bottom is stony and reeds are absent. On the Continent it is 

 known to nest in Southern Sweden ; also in Finland north to Wasa and Kuopio ; 

 and in Russia on Lake Onega and the Perm government south to the lower Dneister, 

 the Sea of Azof, and Transcaucasia.. From Denmark southward it breeds in 

 suitable localities to the Mediterranean, but it is doubtful whether it does so at 

 the present time in Greece. It nests on some of the Mediterranean islands, Sardinia, 

 Sicily, Cyprus, etc., as well as in North-west Africa (Marocco, Algeria, and probably 

 Tunisia). In Asia it ranges north to the central Tobolsk and southern Tomsk 

 governments, and east to South Ussuria and China, as well as in Japan, while its 

 southward limits include Palestine, Transcaspia, Kashmir, and locally in N. India. 

 It is also said to breed in Abyssinia and South Africa, and is represented by allied 

 races in Australia and New Zealand. Continental birds winter in the Mediter- 

 ranean region, and Asiatic birds south to the Persian Gulf, India, and Burma. 

 Casual in the Faeroes and Norway. [F. c. R. J.] 



3. Migration. Resident within our area so far as known, although a cold- 

 weather visitor to some districts ; almost unknown in the most northerly parts of 

 our islands (see above), and everywhere rather local in its distribution, owing to 

 the nature of its haunts. But in winter it is found on the coasts as well as inland. 

 In Yorkshire it is a local resident, and not common as a winter visitor ; to Kent 

 it is solely an autumn and winter visitor, seldom seen before November ; and in 

 Dumfriesshire it is very locally resident, and an irregular cold-weather visitor 

 (cf. Nelson, B. of Yorks., 1907, p. 738 ; Ticehurst, B. of Kent, 1909, p. 540 ; and 

 Gladstone, B. of Dumfries., 1910, p. 459). In Ireland it is resident but for a cold- 

 weather movement towards tidal waters and the southern districts (cf . Ussher and 

 Warren, B. of Ireland, 1900, p. 376). [A. L. T.] 



4. Nest and Eggs. The nest is a heap of vegetable matter pulled up from 

 the surrounding water, and either floating on the surface or built up in shallow 

 water among the surrounding plants. Rushes, flags, reeds, pondweed, and even 

 dead sticks are used as material, the male assisting in the work and bringing addi- 



1 The first record for Lakeland will be found in the Zoologist, 1912, p. 183. 



