mek ZOOLOGIST 
No. 849.—March 15th, 1912. 

AN OBSERVATIONAL DIARY ON THE DOMESTIC 
HABITS OF THE RED-THROATED DIVER (CO- 
LYMBUS SEPTENTRIONALIS). 
By Epmunp S£ELovs. 
July 13th, 1910.—Whilst walking amongst the maze of small 
lakes or pools with which the country where these observations 
were made is studded, I saw, at first, a single grown Red-throated 
Diver, with two young ones. I at once crouched, and watched 
them swimming about together, for a little. I supposed the old 
bird to be the female but, before long, another appeared, and I 
then saw that it was the larger of the two—therefore probably the 
male. The new-comer had something in its bill which I at first 
thought was a fish, and afterwards a bundle of weeds; this she 
put down on the water in front of the chicks, just as I have seen 
Grebes and Swans do. Young Red-throated Divers, therefore, 
may be fed, at first in the same way. This pair were still un- 
hatched last Saturday—it being now Wednesday. On another 
and smaller pool I saw a nest which the young had also recently 
left. It was just on the peaty margin of the pool and was like a 
rudimentary Grebe’s, being much less raised, and not nearly so 
finished-locking. It seemed to have been made by the bird—or 
birds—having placed more of the soft peaty earth above the 
natural level of the pool’s margin. No doubt it had been much 
pressed down by the weight of the sitting bird, but it could 
never, I think, have been anything but very flat. 
Zool, 4th ser. vol. XVI., March, 1912. H 
