GREAT NORTHERN DIVER. 327 



the irides red ; head, cheeks, and back of the neck black, 

 the first with some tints of green and blue ; the back also 

 black, but most of the feathers ornamented with spots of 

 white upon the black, those on the back with small square- 

 shaped spots, the scapulars and tertials with larger Avhite 

 spots, which are also square, one on each side the shaft of 

 the feather, forming transverse lines, the tertials also ending 

 in white ; on the wing-coverts, rump, and upper tail-coverts, 

 the white spots are small ; primaries and tail-feathers uni- 

 formly black without spots ; chin, and neck in front black, 

 varied with two collars of white, spotted with black ; from 

 these marks this species is sometimes called the Ring-necked 

 Diver ; lower part of the neck in fiont white, with short 

 longitudinal stripes of black, upon white on the sides ; breast 

 and under surface of the body white ; sides under the wing 

 and the flanks greyish-white ; legs, toes, and their mem- 

 branes nearly black. The whole length from thirty to 

 thirty-three inches. From the carpal joint to the end of 

 the wing thirteen inches and three-quarters to fourteen 

 inches. Females are smaller than males. 



A young male, nearly full grown, killed in the winter, has 

 the beak of a brownish-white horn colour ; irides reddish- 

 brown ; head, back of the neck, and all the upper surface 

 of the body greyish-black ; all the feathers on the back 

 broadly edged with ash-grey : chin, neck in front, and all 

 the under surface of the body dull white ; outer surface of 

 the legs and toes dark greenish-brown ; edges and inner 

 surface lighter greenish-brown ; the whole length thirty-one 

 inches ; of the wing thirteen inches and a half. 



Mr. Audubon says " the young are covered at birth with 

 a kind of black stiff down, and in a day or two after are led 

 to the water by their mother."" 



