BritisJi Birds. 



The D I V ERS.—Orda- Ci U. ) -MBIFORMES. 



The external appearance of a Diver is sufficient for its recognition, and the only 

 bird that it could possibly' be mistaken for would be a Grebe, from which the Divers 

 are at once distinguished b}- their larger size. In certain anatomical characters they 

 closely resemble the Grebes, but the\' have the toes united b}- a web. and not 

 scalloped as in the last-named birds. The_\' arc the most expert and powerful ot 

 divers, but they are almost helpless on land, as their leet appear to have no power 

 whatever and lie stretched out beliind the birds on each side. The usual upright 

 position m which these birds are mounted in Museums is now generally admitted to 

 be an impossible one. 



This is one of the larger Divers, and has a wing of fourteen 



inches in length. In summer plumage it is distinguished bv 



NOl^THERN DIVER. ,■ ,,",,,,,-,,■,' r , r r ,' 



„ , , , . ,. , its purplish black liead, while the sides of the fore part of the 

 (Culymbus olactaln.) ' "^ . 



neck are purplish-blue or dark greenish-blue. In winter the 



upper parts are dark brown, the feathers margined with greyish ash-colour. 



The present species mav probably breed in the Shetlands, but no authentic eggs 



have been taken, though it nests in Iceland, Greenland and in Arctic America. To 



Great Britain it is chiefly known as a winter visitor, when specimens are noticed off 



all our coasts, its remarkable diving powers making it by no means an easy task 



to procure a specimen, as it is able to sink its bod\' low in the water or dive at once, 



sometimes accomplishing a distance of a hundred )ards or more before it reappears. 



The nest consists of only a few bits of dead grass or water-plants and is placed 



close to the edge of the water, so that the bird can shuffle down to the latter and 



escape by swimming, on the approach of danger. The eggs exceed three-and-a-half 



inches in length, and arc two in number, of a dark olive or chocolate brown colour, 



with black spots and indistinct underlying spots of gre}-. 



There is no difference in size between this and the tore- 



going species, but it can be told h\ its 3ellowish or whitish 



WHITE-BILLED , ... ,■ , ■ , . ,.„• . ,' r .1 . r .1 ^• 



bill, which IS also of a di erent shape from that of the Great 

 DIVER. ' 



,„ , , , •> Northern Diver, for it is nearlv straight from the forehead to 



(Colymbus atiainst.) ' ■ " 



the tip, whereas in C. glacialis the culniinal ridge is bent 



