Tue Divine Birps. 281 
seems more at home than on the river. This diver, 
or grebe, is a strictly American species, but no one 
of our writers appears to have grown enthusiastic 
over it. It is one of my favorites, for it is fearless 
and comes directly into town, and takes genuine de- 
light in dodging the stones that boys will throw at it 
on every occasion. It is not deterred from swim- 
ming in the streams of its forefathers, even though 
befouled with factory refuse. Again, it will keep you 
company, when paddling about in the solitary crooks 
and turns of little inland creeks, keeping you in sight, 
but never in your way; lively by action, but uttering 
no useless words; a type of companion hard enough 
to find among the unfeathered bipeds. 
This completes the undertaking as outlined in the 
opening pages. I promised to conclude with the 
Dabchick and have done so; but one duty remains: 
to beg the Diver’s pardon for speaking ill of it when 
thinking of the tuneful thrushes. I trust what I 
have said in proper place will make amends for the 
unintentional slight; and now I have but to hope 
that this glance at North American bird-life will aid 
in bringing about a proper feeling for all our birds,— 
a feeling that will induce us all to make serious efforts 
to check the persecution to which they are subjected. 
It will be a sorry day when the ornithological litera- 
ture of our country will be classed by librarians as a 
department of Ancient History. 
24* 
