Tern {Hydrochelidon hybrida and H. nigra); the nests
of all these birds were built amongst the water-weeds
that almost entirely covered the water, without any
attempt at concealment, though, in the case of the
present species, the sitting bird very deftly covered her
eggs by two plucks at the surrounding weeds before
" going below." Some of the Grebes' eggs were fresh,
most of them partially incubated, and a few within a
day or two of hatching; the latter were of a rich
cinnamon or chocolate colour, and we found specimens
varying from that hue through all the gradations of
light rust-colour, buff, and pale yellow, to their normal
colour of greenish white. I must mention that the
water of the little lakes to which I refer was strongly
impregnated with iron, and the surrounding land of a
rich yellowish red. This species is to be met with
during the winter in all the suitable localities of the
Mediterranean coasts that I have visited. One of the
most remarkable facts that I have noticed in connection
with the subject of this article is that a breeding pair
may occasionally be found, of which one bird has the
crest and ruff or tippet fully developed, whilst its mate
remains without any trace of these ornaments. I may
add that the great majority of the eggs of this species
that I have examined in situ were more or less wet, in
some few instances actually lying in water.