CHAPTER LI. 



DIVER SHOOTING. 



" Now up, now down again, that hard it is to prove 

 Whether under water most it liveth or above." 



Drayton. 



The species of birds which fall under this denomination are many, 

 and sometimes afford the wild-fowl shooter excellent sport ; but they 

 are altogether useless as an article of food, the flavour of the flesh 

 being disagreeable to the palate, on account of their subsisting en- 

 tirely upon fish. And, totally different to other wild-fowl, such as 

 are fit for the table, they have bills peculiarly formed by Nature for 

 the purpose of assisting them in obtaining their food. The bill of 

 the diver species is, for the most part, serrated, sharp-pointed, thick 

 in substance, and strong ; possessing, in exquisite arrangement, five 

 rows of sharp, tiny teeth, thereby vesting in them the power of hold- 

 ing the most slippery of the finny tribe with the greatest ease. The 

 teeth are arranged in a position slightly inclining inwards ; so that it 

 would seem impossible for any small fish to escape, when once within 

 the grasp of so powerful a mandible. 



In pursuing divers as objects of sport, the only way to succeed in 

 killing them is, to follow them up closely, in the same manner as 

 that already stated in the previous chapter, under the head 

 " Shoveller Shooting." The sportsman should fire the instant they 

 come to the surface ; unless killed, they generally contrive to escape, 

 so cunning and expert are they in the art of diving : and they never 

 resign the chase whilst they have sufficient power left to hold them- 

 selves under water. 



They are, for the most part, savage birds when taken alive (as 



