THE RED-THROATED DIVER. 557 



localities in Maine : 3.67 by 2.35, 3.85 by 2.15, 3.50 by 

 2.25, 3.50 by 2.25 inches. Their color is an olivaceous- 

 brown , sometimes an olivaceoiis-drab ; and one specimen is 

 of a reddish-brown, with but a slight olivaceous tint. This 

 primary color is sparingly marked with small spots and a 

 few larger blotches of blackish or very dark-brown. The 

 Umbagog Lakes, in Maine, are a favorite breeding locality 

 of this species ; and sometimes several pairs may be found, 

 within a hundred rods of each other, engaged in the duties 

 of incubation. When the nest is approached, the sitting 

 bird silently leaves it ; and, gliding through the grass, drops 

 into the water ; and, diving, swims below the surface to a 

 considerable distance from the shore, where, appearing 

 above it, she attentively watches the intruder. 



The nest is built only a short distance from the water, 

 and is approached in different directions by paths through 

 the grass, beaten by the birds, or sometimes by muskrats 

 in their approaches to their winter homes. I once heard of 

 one of these Loons forming its nest in the top of an aban- 

 doned muskrat's nest, and of another that placed it in the 

 top of a low stump of a pine. Usually, it is laid on the mud 

 or earth, in thick grass or weeds. 



COLYMBUS SEPTENTRIONALIS. — Linnceus. 



The Red-throated Diver. 



Colymbns Septentrionalis, Nuttall. Man., II. (1834) 519. Aud. Om. Biog., III. 

 (1838) 20; V. (1839) 625. lb., Birds Am., VII. (1844) 299. 



Description. 

 Adult. — Front, sides of the head, upper part of the throat, and sides of the neck, 

 clear bluish-graj' ; upper part of the head of the same color, intermixed with black- 

 ish spots; the hind neck streaked longitudinally with white on a greenish-black 

 ground, the white feathers being raised above the others; on the lorepart of the 

 neck is a large longitudinal patch of deep reddish-brown; upper plumage brownish- 

 black, slightly tinged with green, and on the upper part of the back and lower part 

 and sides of the neck streaked and mottled with white; wings and tail brownish- 

 black; under plumage pure-white, with a band across the hind-part of the abdomen, 

 and the lower tail coverts, brownish-gray; bill bluish-black; iris bright-red; tarsi 

 and feet brownish-black externally, on the inside pale flesh-color; claws yellowish 

 at the base, dusky at the end. 



