VOL XV.] GREAT CRESTED GREBE. 255 



a sun-baked island in late June ; and in July I saw three 

 young, several days old, with their parent out in the loch. 



Baker Loch is the real home of the Great Crested Grebes 

 in the Kilpatrick Hills, for it is extensive, and food is abundant 

 during the greater part of the year, while the shore is mostly 

 of the " mere " or '• broad " type. Information regarding the 

 history of this species here prior to 1905 is urgently desired. 

 It is certain that from 1900-1910 lew Grebes were recorded 

 even as migratory birds in autumn. In 1916 a nest with 

 four eggs was found, but in 1917 and 1918 it is not known 

 whether any nested successfully. In the autumn of 1919 

 I saw two pairs, and in 1920 two nests with eggs were 

 found. The following year, 192 1, saw an increase in the 

 number of breeding birds, three pairs nesting in the north- 

 east bay and one pair in the west bay. The behaviour 

 of the Grebes in the north-east bay was interesting. Owing 

 to the abnormal climatic conditions the loch rapidly dried 

 up, and as the water receded, leaving the large nests 

 of moss and aquatic plants several feet distant, it was evident 

 that the sitting birds were very restless and showed great 

 unwillingness to sit during the day. When I approached 

 they rose, ran rapidly in an ungainly fashion to the water, 

 and instantly dived. 



It is probable that in the near future an extension will be 

 made to Loch Humphrey or Burncrooks Loch. I am credibly 

 informed that a nest was found in the western bay of Loch 

 Humphrey in 1920. The evidence concerning breeding in 

 this loch and Fyn Loch, from 1900-1916, is much too indefinite 

 to be reliable. 



Fyn Loch is an excellent breeding haunt for this species, 

 and seems to have been little visited by naturalists in the 

 last twenty years. In 1918 a nest with eggs was found, 

 and in the autumn of 1919 I saw a solitary Grebe. In 1920 

 a pair nested in the south-west bay, and in 192 1 a brood 

 was seen with their parents in early July. 



Craigallian Loch has not, as far as I know, been colonized 

 of later years, and no Grebes have nested at Loch Ardinning 

 since 191 1. No data is available regarding their breeding 

 recently at Carbeth Loch, near Craigallian Loch, but they 

 probably have done so as stated in Scot. Nat., 1919, p. 71, as 

 I have seen pairs there during the nesting-season. 



In conclusion I wish to state my indebtedness to Mr. C. A. 

 Hamilton, of Barns, the Keepers of Auchentorlie, Cochno, 

 Edinbarnet, and Aucheneden Estates, and the many other 

 gentlemen without whose assistance this short history would 

 have been necessarily more incomplete. 



