NATURAL HI8T0EY OF THE DIVERS. $$ 



habits of the ember-goose, both of the best informed gen- 

 tlemen, and of the fishermen and common people. 



By the latter class I was uniformly assured, that the em- The common 



ber continues constantly at sea* without ever touching the P e °P e belieT e 



J . °. it hatches its 



land ; and that it hatches its eggs in holes under its wings, eggs under the 



This last opinion I found was adopted, because, though the vrln 2* 

 ember is never seen on land, nor have its nest or eggs ever 

 been discovered in the islands, yet the old ember is fre- 

 quently observed in the friths and bays, attended by a cou- 

 ple of young ones. I remarked that, both in the Orkney 

 and the Shetland islands, the common people in general 

 made no distinction between the true immer and the north- 

 ern diver, but included both under the name of ember- 

 geese : some fishermen, however, denominated the northern 

 diver, the great emmer, or ember ; but the hatching of the 

 egg under the wing was supposed to be equally character- 

 istic of both. 



From the gentlemen resident in both sets of islands, who Account given 

 were sportsmen, or had been sportsmen in their youth, I informe/"** 

 learned, that both the true immer, colymbus immer, and 

 the northern diver, colymbus glacialis, frequent the friths 

 and bays during the whole year, and very much resemble 

 each other in their habits ; only the northern diver is ob- 

 served to be more common in winter than in summer, while 

 the emmer is equally common all the year round. On this 

 account some gentlemen were of opinion, that this last 

 might probably breed in some of the unfrequented holms*; 

 but they acknowledged, that its nest had never been found : 

 indeed neither species had ever been seen to go ashore ; far 

 less been known to breed. I was told, that when pursued by 

 a boat, both kinds swim with astonishing velocity; when ap- 

 proached, they dive very rapidly; and occasionally changing 

 their course under water, rise to the surface at a great dis- 

 tance, and in u quarter altogether unexpected ; thus baf- 

 fling the efforts of their pursuers. When suddenly sur- 

 prised, or very much teazed, they sometimes, though but 

 rarely, run along the water, beating it violently with their 

 "wings, and uttering cries not unlike the howlings of some 



* A holm *i9 a small uninhabited island, used only for pasture. 



G 2 small 



