in immature plumage, and, more rarely, according to Mr.
Rodd, in their nuptial dress, have several times been obtained
in Cornwall; and Mr. Cecil Smith kept one alive for
some time which had been taken in Somersetshire. Another
bird in breeding plumage, shot by Lord Clifton in the Portland
Roads, Dorsetshire, on the 8th of April, 1876, is in
the collection of Lord Lilford; and specimens have been
obtained in other localities along our southern coast. The
bird figured by Edwards (Nat. Hist. Birds, plate 96,
figure 2), was taken in a pond at Hampstead, near London,
and was sent alive to Sir Hans Sloane ; Mr. Bond gave
the Author notice of two that were killed in 1841, on
the Kingsbury reservoir; and Mr. Joseph Clarke sent an
account of one that was taken alive on Duxford common-
field, in Cambridgeshire. Several have been killed in
Suffolk : some of them in breeding plumage ; and in Norfolk
Mr. Stevenson is aware of the occurrence of at least twenty-
five specimens in full or nearly full summer dress, as against
two obtained in winter. An unusual number, some of
them in pairs, were secured in the spring of 1862, and one
of the females is said to have contained a considerable
number of eggs; there is not, however, any evidence that
the Eared Grebe has ever bred in this country. Further
north, this species is an accidental visitant to the coasts of
Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, Durham, Northumberland, and the
eastern side of Scotland up to the Orkneys. On the western
side it has been taken in the Outer Hebrides; on Loch
Sunart, in breeding plumage, in the spring of 1866; and on
the Nith in Dumfriesshire; but according to Mr. R. Gray
it must be considered as of uncommon occurrence. Mr.
Kermode informs the Editor that he has a specimen shot in
the Isle of Man on the 22nd of September, 1879; but it
appears to be rare on the west coast of England, and in
Wales. In Ireland examples have been taken in Belfast
Bay in winter; in Armagh and also near Dublin in the
month of June; in Wexford in February; in Cork; and on
the Moy, between Mayo and Sligo, in February, 1852.
The Eared Grebe is a rare straggler to the southern
portions of Norway, Sweden and Finland; but it breeds
sparingly in Poland, Northern Germany, and, according to
Mr. Benzon, in Thy, north-western Jutland, whence he has
obtained several clutches of eggs, and the bird. Southwards
this species is found breeding in suitable localities throughout
the whole, or greater part of Europe, being especially
abundant in some of the marshes on both sides of the
Mediterranean, and in Morocco. According to Mr. Layard
either this, or a representative form, breeds in South Africa.
Our bird has been found in Egypt; also on Lake Ashangi,
in Abyssinia; breeds in abundance in the marshes of Palestine;
and is found across the continent of Asia to Japan,
and China as far south as Amoy in winter, at which season
Mr. Hume found it common along the Sind and Mekran
coasts. In North America it is replaced by a distinguishable
form, P. californicus, which has the primaries entirely
dark, the first two secondaries being almost the same;
whereas in our bird the inner four primaries are white
throughout: the rest of the primaries, and the majority of
the secondaries, being mostly white.
The Eared Grebe makes its nest on inland lakes and
ponds; and Canon Tristram found it breeding on Lake
Halloula, in Algeria, in societies more densely crowded than
any rookery. The nests are described as raised on artificial
islets, frequently almost touching each other, and sometimes
piled on stout foundations rising from more than a
yard under water. Mr. Benzon states that the nests obtained
in Denmark were not floating amongst the rushes,
but were on tussocks on the edges of the lake, though in
places where the water was deep and clear. The nests were
made chiefly of moss, with which the female covered her
eggs on leaving them. Incubation appears to take place
later with this species than with its congeners; both parents
take their turn, and should one be killed the other will continue
sitting, and rear the young. The eggs, four or five in
number, are originally of a yellowish-white, but frequently
become soiled and stained to a dark brown colour; average
measurements l -6 by D15 in.