THE DIVERS 



2311 



quills in the wings is eleven; the tail, although short, is normal, and there are but 

 fourteen or fifteen vertebrae in the neck. Moreover, the beak is long, sharp, and 

 compressed, while the lores are completely feathered. Apart from the question of 

 their relationship to the auks, the peculiar structure of the tibia seems clearly to in- 

 dicate an intimate affinity between the divers and the grebes. Although an extinct 

 representative of the family ( Colymboides] has left its remains in the Miocene de- 

 posits of the Continent, the existing divers, of which there are three well-marked 

 species confined to the Arctic and cooler regions of the Northern Hemisphere, are 

 included in the single genus Colymbus. The divers, although more slenderly 

 formed, have somewhat the appearance of geese when seen on the water; but on 

 land, owing to the backward situation of their legs, are widely different. In plum- 

 age, the two sexes are alike, but the winter dress differs considerably from that of 

 the summer, as do the young from the adult. The typical representative of the 



HAUNT OF THE BLACK-THROATED DIVER. 



genus is the great northern diver (C. glacialis}, attaining a length of some 

 thirty-three inches, and characterized by its glossy black head and neck, the 

 presence of two gorgets of velvety black and white stripes on the throat, 

 and the belts of white spots of varying size crossing the dark back, the under 

 parts being white. Not uncommon especially in an immature state on the 

 British coasts, and thence wandering as far south as the Mediterranean, this 

 diver breeds in Iceland, Greenland, and Northeastern Canada, while in North- 

 eastern Asia and Western Arctic America it is replaced by a larger variety 

 (C. adamsi), distinguished by the white or yellow hue of its beak. Next in 

 point of size is the black-throated diver (C. arcticus), which does not exceed 

 twenty-six inches in length, and is characterized by its light gray head, the pur- 

 plish black patch, surmounted with a black and white striped gorget on the throat, 



