THE GREAT NORTHERN DIVER 297 



Other names by which the Paftin is known are Sea Parrot, Coul- 

 terneb, Mullet, Bottlenose ; and, in Scotland, Ailsa Parrot, Tammie- 

 Norie, and Tammas. 



FAMILY COLYMBID^ 



THE GREAT NORTHERN DIVER 



COLYMBUS GLACIALIS 



Bill, with the upper mandible, nearly straight, upwards of four inches in 

 length ; head and neck violet-black, with a double gorget white, barred 

 with black ; upper parts black, spotted with white ; under parts white ; 

 bill black ; irides brown ; feet dusky, the membranes whitish. Young 

 very like the next, but distinguishable by their superior size and the 

 direction of the bill. Length thirty-three inches. Eggs dark olive- 

 brown, with a few spots of purplish brown. 



The name Divers is, on the sea-coast, loosely applied to a tribe 

 of sea-birds, including the Grebes, Cormorants, and other birds, 

 which, when pursued, place their safety in diving rather than in 

 flying. In works on natural history the term is, however, employed 

 to designate the genus Colymbus, and with great propriety ; for, 

 however skilled any of the above birds may be in this mode of 

 progression, the true divers surpass them immeasurably. First 

 among these in size and dignity is the Great Northern Diver, a 

 native of high latitudes in both hemispheres, never perhaps coming 

 farther south than the Shetlands for breeding purposes, and 

 visiting our waters only during winter.^ The Northern Diver, 

 or Imber or Ember Goose, appears to be tolerably frequent in 

 British waters. In Scotland it prefers saltwater lochs and sandy 

 bays to the open sea, though occasionally seen some miles from 

 land. It swims deep in the water, but advances rapidly. When 

 in pursuit of prey it sinks beneath the surface without plunge 

 or splash, the head disappearing last, and it traverses perhaps 

 two or three hundi^ed yards of water before it rises again. 

 Montagu says that it propels itself by its feet alone ; Audubon, 

 on the contrary, states that it uses the wings under water. The 

 latter author is most probably correct, for it dives more swiftly 

 than the Grebes, and these birds undoubtedly make a vigorous 

 use of their wings. Where shoals of small fish, such as sand-eels 



^ Mr. Yarrell, vol. iii. p. 426, quotes Sir Thomas Browne as an authority 

 for the fact that Divers formerly bred in the Broads of Norfolk. A careful 

 examination of that author will show, however, that Sir Thomas Browne had 

 seen only a single specimen of the Northern Diver, his ' Divers ', or ' Dive- 

 fowl ', being the Crested and Lesser Grebes, etc., which, as we have seen 

 above, continue to breed in the Broads. 



