304 THE BIRDS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



enough, since many winter Great Northerns have very pale 

 bills, but in the White-billed bird the upper mandible is 

 straight, and the lower inclines sharply upward from the well- 

 marked "angle," giving the whole bill a suggestion of uptilt. 

 Length, 33 ins. Wing, 14*9 ins. Tarsus, 3-4 ins. 



Red-throated Diver. Colymhus stellahcs Pontopp. 



The Red-throated Diver (Plate 131) has a wide range, 

 breeding in the north of Europe, Asia, and America. In 

 autumn a general southward movement distributes it throughout 

 warmer seas, even south of the Mediterranean, and to the 

 British shores it is a common winter visitor and passage 

 migrant. It nests, however, in the north of Scotland and in 

 many Scottish islands, as well as in at least one locality in 

 Ireland. 



Much commoner than the other divers, this bird can be 

 identified at any season by its smaller size and slender uptilted 

 bill ; it is about the size of a Mallard. The vinaceous red 

 patch on its throat, from which it gets its name, is sufficient 

 for identification in summer, and io winter the white speckles 

 on its back set it apart from other divers. Many of its habits, 

 though in the main similar to those of its congeners, approach 

 those of grebes ; it is a graceful, active, playful bird, when on 

 the water assuming quaint but never distorted attitudes as it 

 rolls and gambols. Though it swims low and when anxious 

 submerges its body, it floats buoyantly, resting with the head 

 on its back, the bill pointed towards its tail. It is sociable, 

 and high flights of small parties are not unusual ; from these 

 it descends obliquely, sometimes almost vertically, hurthhg 

 down with turns and twists, but changing the angle of descent 

 before it strikes the water, ploughing up a wave. The flight 

 is rather grebe-like, and its head is carried a little below the 



