Tke Divers. 259 



wing, their powers in the water, and so much else. 

 Who that has watched the sea-gull as it pauses in its 

 flight, and hangs suspended as if resting on air, abso- 

 lutely still, observing what is beneath it, and has not 

 wondered at the beauty of the bird; or when voyaging 

 by ship, or rowing about near the shore, has seen 

 some of those birds sit on the waves as though on 

 some airy swinging nest, and has not admired their 

 grace and wonderful adaptation to their mode of life. 

 With the storm-petrel and its movements, most people 

 have thus become familiar. The sea-pie or pied oyster- 

 catcher affects localities where it can find oysters, 

 mussels, or limpets, and these it detaches and breaks 

 with its bright red bill, which is admirably adapted 

 to this work, being literally chisel-shaped. Although 

 for the greatest experts in the diving way you must 

 go further afield than the most attractive portions of 

 our coasts, and find the penguins, the puffins, or the 

 beautiful black-throated divers, which are fonder of 

 more northern temperatures, though the last-named 

 may be seen in some parts of the northern coasts of 

 Scotland. There is a penguin in the fish-house of the 

 Zoological Gardens at Regent's Park, whose powers 

 in diving the keeper exhibits so many times a day by 

 throwing small fishes for it into water in a glass-fronted 

 tank the bird, for the nonce, becomes a fish, and the 

 small fry are soon snapped up : at the end of every line 

 of movement a fish is devoured, and all with such 

 decision and despatch as gives one a wholly new idea 

 of the powers of the diver birds. A shag also dives. 



But with the gulls and the sea-ducks alone you will 

 find plenty to interest you if you watch them well; 

 and all round our shores, especially on high rocky 

 cliffs, where the seabirds delight to build, they fly in 



