Gat) 
AN OBSERVATIONAL DIARY ON THE . DOMESTIC 
HABITS OF THE RED-THROATED DIVER (CO- 
LYMBUS SHPTENTRIONALIS). 
By Epmunp Setovs. 
(Continued from p. 96.) 
July 24th.—In situ at 12 (midday), and find one parent, with 
one chick, at lower end of the loch. From size and appearance 
I take the former to be the female. 
1.9.—Bird off, leaving the chick by itself. It rises from the 
bay, as is usual, or somewhat usual, with it, having dived there, 
apparently, and taken me by surprise. I notice that, though it 
goes off in the usual direction, it makes a wide circle, flying 
northwards, generally speaking, which would bring it, over 
various lochs, to another part of the coast. It utters the 
euttural cry—a sort of deep, short quack—at intervals, and, at 
first, I think it has seen me, but as it does not return, and keeps 
circling about, I am in hopes it has not, or that, at least, sitting 
quiet here, in my accustomed place, it has not minded me. 
Shortly after this, the chick, thus left on the water, dis- 
appears. When I last saw it, it was, I think, in or near the bay. 
The other chick I have not yet seen, and the loch now, at 1.80, 
seems empty. 
1.50.—All at once I see a Diver, at the near end of the loch, 
just skimming over the water, in flight, and the next moment it 
is hidden by the rising ground, behind which lies most of that 
little side-shoot of the loch, which I have grandiloquently called 
the bay, at the entrance of which I, at the same time, catch 
sight of the chick, again, just before he disappears into it. A 
moment or two afterwards, 1 hear, some way off, the guttural 
‘awk, awk, awk” of a Red-throated Diver, in the air. From 
this it would appear that the other bird—the male of the pair— 
has been sitting all the while—no doubt with the other chick— 
in the usual place at the far end of the loch, and that he has 
now dived down to this end, and flown away—since he could not 
have swum down the loch without my seeing him. The second 
chick has, no doubt, been left sitting on the bank, as before. 
