70 THE HUMAN SIDE OF BIRDS 



before disappearing. Other divers do not make 

 this aerial plunge. 



There are quite a few high divers among the 

 birds, and their beauty of form is shown to great 

 advantage in their profession. Among this class 

 of divers may be mentioned the booby, the king- 

 fisher, the osprey, and several varieties of terns. 

 The booby swoops down from a height with such 

 a force that he is often dashed to pieces against the 

 rocks. Fabre has several times mentioned this 

 fact. 



Not a few of these high divers after reaching the 

 bottom run around there for a while. The dipper 

 is especially fond of underwater haunts. There he 

 moves along, half-running and half-swimming, 

 searching about this stone and that; then suddenly 

 he arises to the surface and is seen to dart through 

 the foaming spray of water to a beautiful, mist- 

 drained nest. With his wonderful black-and- 

 white body and his elusive habits, he is a water- 

 nymph indeed! 



Swimmers and divers of the far north who live 

 among the icebergs, and who secure their food en- 

 tirely from the water, have devised a wonderful 

 means of diving. The penguin mentioned in the re- 

 port of the Challenger Expedition is claimed ac- 

 tually to swallow stones when preparing to dive 



