rare towards the north. I have received many specimens from the Volga; and it is stated to 

 breed commonly on the Sarpa. Mr. Taczanowski informs me that it is more numerous than the 

 Horned Grebe in Poland during the season of passage, and a few remain to breed on some of the 

 lakes. In North Germany this Grebe is not only seen on migration but it breeds regularly in 

 many portions of that country. Von Homeyer (J. f. O. 1870, p. 231) states, on the authority of 

 Dr. Gloger, that it breeds not uncommonly in Silesia, and he himself found it nesting near 

 Breslau in 1867; and Mr. Herman Schalow writes (J. f. O. 1876, p. 4) that it is generally distri- 

 buted during the breeding-season throughout Brandenburg, being most numerous in South- 

 eastern Lausitz. Mr. Collin states (Skand. Fugl. p. 722) that it has not been proved to occur in 

 Denmark proper; but Mr. Benzon, in a letter just received, informs me that it does certainly 

 breed there, but has been overlooked or mistaken for the Horned Grebe. " It breeds regularly," 

 he writes, " in Thy, in North-western Jutland. I have, with Dr. Hejberg, received from the 

 Koldskjor lake, in that district, in May 1876, two clutches of five eggs, and on the 4th June, 

 1878, three of three and one of four eggs. On the 31st May 1878 one clutch of four and one of 

 five eggs were taken in Norsso, and four or five nests, containing from two to five eggs, at the 

 Torme lake." A male was sent alive by Dr. Hejberg to the Copenhagen Zoological Gardens, 

 where it lived some time ; and its skin is now in Mr. Benzon's collection. It is only met with 

 occasionally during migration in Holland and Belgium, not remaining to breed in either of those 

 countries. Up the Rhine it appears to be of more frequent occurrence ; and Mr. Schiitt speaks 

 of it as not being rare on the Bodensee. He shot an old male in full breeding-dress at the 

 mouth of the river Aach on the 25th April 1855. In the north of France it is met with 

 regularly, though sparingly, whereas in the southern portions of that country it is abundant in 

 some localities, and breeds in the marshes near Nimes and other places. 



According to Professor Barboza du Bocage it is common in some parts of Portugal ; and in 

 Spain, Colonel Irby writes (Orn. Str. Gibr. p. 220), "Podiceps nigricollis is the most common of 

 the Grebes, breeding in lagoons and swamps on both sides of the Straits. In the winter they 

 take to the salt water, and are generally plentiful in Gibraltar Bay." 



Passing eastward, again, I find this Grebe recorded as being tolerably common in winter in 

 Savoy, except during severe seasons; and it has been known to nest in the marshes of the Rhone 

 and the Isere. In Italy it is generally distributed, nesting in great numbers in the marshes of 

 Tuscany, and possibly in those of Venetia and Lombardy. Doderlein says that it breeds 

 frequently in the marshes of Catania, Syracuse, and Terranova, but it is not common in other 

 parts of Sicily. According to Mr. A. B. Brooke it is extremely numerous in Sardinia in winter, 

 remaining until late in March, when nearly all leave ; and he is not sure if any remain to breed 

 there. Mr. C. Bygrave Wharton (Ibis, 1876, p. 29) noticed a few on the lakes on the east coast 

 of Corsica in March, but none in April; and Lord Lilford informs me that he saw large numbers 

 in Corsica and Sardinia. In Malta it is met with in winter, but is not common. In Southern 

 Germany it breeds in many localities, but does not appear to be common anywhere. Dr. Anton 

 Fritsch says (J. f. O. 1872, p. 378) that a few breed in Bohemia, but, according to Palliardi, flocks 

 of twenty pairs are seen there. Messrs. Danford and Harvie-Brown say (Ibis, 1875, p. 434) that 

 it is of not unfrequent occurrence in some parts of Transylvania; and it is said to be numerous 

 on the Southern Danube and on the coasts of Turkey. According to Dr. Kriiper it is tolerably 



