DOMESTIC HABITS OF RED-THROATED DIVER. 175 
this chick, the female, for the most part, keeping with the other 
at the other end of the loch, on the water, and feeding this other 
one. Assuming that the female, at each coming back to the loch, 
brought her chick something, then this one was fed much better 
than that of the male, who only got one fish from his father 
between 12 and 5.53—I do not know how shortly or how often 
he had been fed before 12. On the other hand, I cannot be 
certain that both chicks did not get something from the mother, 
though I do not think so; and again—this perhaps presumably 
—she may never have brought anything except when I saw it in 
her bill. 
On my way back I found two well-grown chicks of the Red- 
throated Diver, in a quite small loch, and, going round it, found 
both the nest and sitting-place, without any possibility of being 
mistaken, or of confusing the one with the other; for whilst the 
latter—the sitting-place—though well-marked—as also the six 
inches or so of track between it and the water—was a depression 
in the grass only, the former—the nest—also upon the grass— 
had been constructed with non-growing grass or other herbage 
that had been brought and laid there. It was close to the water, 
on a little peaty island, just off the shore, and quite un- 
mistakable. So well ought a nest, such as this, to serve as a 
sitting-place, that it seems strange another should be preferred, 
but it would appear that when the nest has once been left it is 
not returned to. 
July 26th, 1910.—Got to the loch about 11.45 a.m., and 
made two careful stalks by the aid of some small stone-piles that 
I had put up yesterday, in order to see, if possible, the male 
bird in his resting-place, with the one chick; but in this I was 
not successful, since the parent bird was away. The chick, 
however, was, I feel sure, up there, but I did not see him till he 
had seen me first, so that he first appeared on the water at that 
end, and began to work his way down to the further end, where 
he joined his other parent, and chick, in the bay. Here they all 
three were when I got into a new position, which gave me 
another view of the point, and greater part of the bay, though 
less comfortable and not so well concealed. At about 1.20 or 1.25 
the male flew in with a fish, and, swimming up with it, the 
whole family were now together. The male took special care to 
