THE RED-TlHlCrA'f ED DIVER. 



Colymbus septentrionalis. 

 PLATE XII. 



Colymbus septentrionalis, Linn. Plongeon cat marin, ou a 

 gorge rouge, Temm. Red-throated Diver of British authors. 

 Speckled Diver, or Loon. First and Second Speckled 

 Diver of Bewick (the young). 



THE Red-Throated Diver varies from those species 

 which we shall immediately describe, and which we 

 consider as more typical both in the less distinctly 

 marked plumage and in the form of the bill, which in 

 this bird appears slightly turned up, hut this is caused 

 by the mandible having a more marked ascending 

 angle, the maxilla in reality bending as much as in 

 the others. From the different appearance of the 

 young and of the birds in winter, there for a long 

 time existed a confusion, and the birds in that state 

 were described as the " Speckled Diver." The grey 

 head and rufous throat we consider to be the plu- 

 mage of the breeding-time, lost when that is over, 

 and only regained late in winter or on the approach 

 of spring. This, however, in regard to the Red- 

 throated Diver, still requires attention ; red-throated 

 birds are got in " winter," (the months are not 



