An extraordinary eerie cry echoes across small Scottish lochs each spring. Sometimes answered by another mysterious voice and a drawn-out duet ensues.
These haunting calls belong to red-throated divers, and their banshee-like vocalisations are how the birds establish territories and reinforce the pair bond.
- 10 tiniest birds in the world – including one that weighs just 1.95g
- These are the world's biggest birds of prey
The divers look superficially like grebes, with dagger beaks and sleek bodies that sit very low in the water.
Their rear-set webbed feet are superb for swimming, allowing them to stay under for up to a minute-and-a-half as they chase their fish prey. However, as a result, the birds can hardly walk.
So ungainly are they on land, they have to build their nest mounds right by the water’s edge so that they can slip straight off into the loch.
Red-throated divers are birds of wild, untamed places, and the entire British population nests in the far north and west of Scotland, especially on Shetland and Orkney.
More stories about wildlife
- A great predator has returned the towering cliffs of Yosemite National Park
- Oregon’s biggest city was drowning in crow poop. Then a new predator came to town
- It’s the fastest animal on Earth and ruthlessly kills prey in mid-air – and it’s taking over London’s skyscrapers
- Loons in murky water. Why scientists in Wisconsin are worried about this icon of the northern wilderness
- Great crested grebe seen drowning and eating chiffchaffs in Spain
