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 Podicipes nigricollis of systematists, 

 is so rarely met with in the British area, that it 

 scarcely requires more than a passing allusion. 



