DWERS.] 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



55 



markable, however, that the majority of those which 

 visit our island are females or youn^ males, adult 

 males in their full a;arb beina; comparatively seldom 

 met with. It is abundant during the winter in Ger- 

 many, France, and Holland, and is not uncommon 

 in Italy. With other mergansers it frequents the 

 river Wolga ; and has been observed in Japan. In 

 America, according to Wilson, it may frequently be 

 seen on some of the lakes of New England, and of 

 the state of New York ; but it returns to the fur 

 countries to breed. Bonaparte states that at Phila- 

 delphia it is very rare, and adventitious. 



The smew has all the habits of its race, and is vi- 

 gorous on the wing, and quick and active as a diver, 

 feeding on fish, small Crustacea, and insects. It is 

 extremely shy and wary. Its mode of nidiftcation 

 resembles that of the goosander, and the eggs are yel- 

 lowish white. 



The old male has a great spot of greenish black 

 on each side of the bill, and a similar coloured but 

 longitudinal one on the occiput; the tufted crest, 

 neck, scapulars, small coverts of the wings and all 

 the lower parts very pure white ; upper part of the 

 back, the two crescents which are directed under 

 the sides of the breast, and the edges of the scapu- 

 lars, deep black ; tail ash-coloured ; sides and thighs 

 varied with ash-coloured zigzags ; bill, legs (tarsi), 

 and toes bluish ash ; webs black ; iris brown. Length 

 fifteen to sixteen inches. 



Female : — Summit of the head, cheeks, and occi- 

 put reddish brown ; throat, upper part of the neck, 

 belly, and abdomen white ; lower part of the neck, 

 breast, sides, and rump bright ash ; upper parts and 

 tail deep ash ; wings variegated with white, ash, 

 and black. Length fiftaen inches. 



Young of the Year, similar to the female. 



In the male the trachea has one gradual enlarge- 

 ment in its course down the neck, and a consider- 

 able bulla at the bifurcation. 



Family COLYMBID^, or DIVERS. 



The birds of this family display a fitness for diving 

 habits even more decided than is to be found either 

 in the diving ducks or the mergansers, having the 

 characteristics with which such habits are connected 

 carried out to a still hieher degree. The plumage 

 is deep, close, silky, and extremely glossy. The 

 bill is long and sharp ; the wings are small, concave, 

 composed of stiff feathers, and used for the purpose 

 of giving additional impetus to the body when 

 under water. The limbs are placed as far back as 

 possible, the tarsus is flattened, so as to cut the 

 water, and the toes, either lobated or webbed, are 

 so arranged as to fold up into a small compass when 

 drawn towards the body in order to give the stroke. 

 The tail is short, or wanting ; the body is flat, and 

 hence it appears to float deeply on the surface of 

 the water. 



Necessarily embarrassed and awkward on land, the 

 Colymbidae are alert and vigorous on their conge- 

 nial element, from which they can seldom be forced 

 to take wing, trusting rather to diving than to flight 

 for safety. They rise indeed with difficulty, but 

 having attained a due elevation sweep along very 

 rapidly, and are capable of a long sustained flight. 



The first group of this family which we shall no- 

 tice is that of the Grebes (Podiceps). 



2015. — The Eared Grebe 



{Podiceps auritns). Le Grebe oreillard of Tem- 

 minck. In the form of their body, the position and 

 structure of the feet, and the nature of their plum- 

 age, the grebes are expressly fitted for the element 

 on which they habitually reside, and in which they 

 chase their finny prey with arrow-like velocity. 

 The head is narrow ; the beak long, pointed, and 

 l_ sharp, somewhat compressed at the sides, and slightly 

 IP inclined upwards towards the tip. The neck is long ; 

 the body boat-shaped and flattened ; the wings are 

 short, concave, and pointed ; there is no tail ; the 

 plumage is thick, full, and soft ; a dense layer of 

 fine down forms an under-dress, being covered by 

 feathers of a silky gloss and texture, and completely 

 waterproof. The toes differ from those of every 

 other aquatic race of birds. Instead of beintr webbed, 

 as in the duck tribe and others of the Natatorial 

 order, the toes are separate and flattened, having 

 their edges furnished with a broad stiff membrane, 

 each toe being, in fact, a distinct and beautifully- 

 formed paddle. Of the three anterior toes, the 

 outermost is the longest and largest; the next is 

 nearly as large, and its outer edge lies tile-like over 

 the inner membrane of the outermost ; the inner, 

 most toe is less than the middle one, on which its 

 outer edge impinges. The hind toe is short, placed 

 high on the leg, and furnished with a lobated mem- 

 brane. The arrangement of the scales covering the 

 toes gives to them a leaf-like appearance ; for the 

 lines dividing the scales ran in regular succession 

 obliquely upwards from a central line or shaft, 

 formed by the bones advancing to the tips, which 

 are covered with a broad, flat nail. The leg, or 



tarsus, is short, and flattened laterally so as to cut 

 the water when drawn up alter each stroke. 



Fig. 2016 represents the Fool of the grebe, and 

 well depicts its tri-oared character. 



The situation of the legs in the grebe is thrown as 

 far backwards as possible, and the thigh is short, 

 and, as it were, retracted, so as not to advance be- 

 yond the body ; the grebe, however, cannot sit up- 

 right like the penguin, lor it does not rest on its 

 heel : it is not plantigrade. When resting on the 

 land it lies prone on its whole body, and in this situ- 

 ation shuffles along like a seal, pushing itself on- 

 wards by striking the ground with its feet. Ill 

 adapted for the land, the grebe, as we have seen, is 

 admirably constructed for the water. It swims low, 

 owing to the flatness of its body, and when diving in 

 pursuit of its prey uses its wings to add to its ve- 

 locity. 



The quickness with which the grebes dive is very 

 remarkable ; so instantaneously do they plunge, 

 that-they are able to avoid the shot from a fowling- 

 piece, fired by a common flint lock, and they will 

 then make a stretch of two hundred yards before 

 coming up to breathe, which is done by merely 

 raising the head for a second above the water. Mr. 

 Selby informs us that, when making a tour through 

 Holland, in company with Sir W. .Jardine, he gave 

 chase to a crested grebe, upon one of the lakes in 

 the neighbourhood of Rotterdam, and that though 

 in a boat conducted by those accustomed to the 

 business, it cost upwards of an hour and a half s se- 

 vere exertion to get within range and secure it by a 

 shot through the neck. The food of this singular 

 group of birds consists of fishes and aquatic insects ; 

 but it is observed that the stomach is always found 

 to contain a mass, greater or less, of the feathers of 

 their own body. That these are swallowed to assist 

 digestion, as has been suggested, is not clear ; most 

 probably they are involuntarily swallowed during 

 the dressing and cleaning of the plumage, for we 

 often find in the stomach of cows and other rumi- 

 nants balls of hair ; the material being collected 

 into the mouth while licking their own or each 

 other's coats, and then swallowed. 



The places chosen by the grebes for their nidift- 

 cation are among the thick reeds and luxuriant 

 aquatic herbage of marshes, or the sedges which 

 border fresh-water lakes and rivers, the nest being 

 composed of a mass of half-decayed roots, dried 

 flags, and other similar vegetable materials. It is 

 large and compact, but roughly put together, and 

 rises or falls according to the rise or fall of the water 

 on which it floats ; the eggs are three or four in 

 number, and carefully covered up by the female 

 every time she leaves the nest. 



It is only within the last few years that ornitho- 

 logists have extricated the species of the genus 

 Podiceps from the confusion in which they were 

 left by the earlier writers, who, misled by the great 

 difference existing between the plumage of birds in 

 an immature and adult state, had set down the 

 young as specifically distinct from their parents ; 

 nor is this error much to be wondered at, since the 

 differences are not only very considerable as it 

 regards colour, but also as respecting the absence 

 or presence of long ear-tufts, occipital crests, or 

 throat-frills, with which the adults are more or less 

 ornamented during the breeding season. The horned 

 grebe, the eared grebe, and the crested grebe, take 

 their names from the position of these silky plumes, 

 which produce a striking and elegant appearance. 

 We have every reason, however, to believe that 

 they are lost during the winter, being the temporary 

 ornaments of the breeding season. Fig. 2017 

 represents the Head of the Eared Grebe in full 

 plumage. 



The genus Podiceps has a wide geographical 

 range, being found in every quarter of the globe. 

 The following species are common to Northern 

 Europe, Asia, and America : — The Red-neck Grebe 

 (Podiceps rubricollis), a winter visitor to our Island; 

 the Crested Grebe (P. cristatus), which breeds in 

 some of the fens of the midland counties of England 

 and in Scotland ; the Horned Grebe (P. cornutus), 

 a rare species, but occasionally breeding in the fenny 

 districts of the eastern counties ; and the Eared Grebe 

 (P. auritus), also a very rare bird in our island, but 

 occasionally known to breed in the same districts as 

 the preceding. 



The Little Grebe or Dabchick, common in the 

 ponds and lakes of our country and spread over the 

 greater part of Europe and Asia, is represented in 

 North America by the P. carolinensis. Several 

 species are peculiar to Australia. The plumage of 

 the male eared grebe in full dress is as follows: — 

 Crown of the head and short ruff round the neck 

 shining black; from behind and below the eyes on 

 each side is a tuft of long, slender, shining orange- 

 buff feathers, which cover the ears and nearly meet 

 behind ; throat, neck, sides of breast, and upper 

 plumage deep shining greyish black ; secondaries 

 white : under plumage white with a silky lustre ; 

 bill black ; iris vermilion ; legs brown. 



Fig. 2015 represents a Male in Foil Plumage, and 

 a Young Bird of the Year. 



We pass from the grebes to the divers, or loons, 

 which, in most points, bear a close resemblance to 

 the former, excepting that the feet are webbed. 

 Three species are known, natives of the high 

 northern regions of both worlds ; they are migratory 

 in their habits, breeding among the fresh-water lakes 

 of the arctic circle, whence they visit the coasts of 

 more southern countries, and those of our islands 

 during the winter, feeding on herrings, sprats, and 

 other fish. The black-throated diver (Colymbus 

 arcticus) and the red-throated diver (C. septentrio- 

 nalis) are said to breed in the Orkneys ; they are 

 abundant in Hudson's Bay. 



2018. — The Northern Diver 



{Colymbus glacialis). Greatest speckled Diver or 

 Loon of Williighby ; Immer Diver, Ember Goose 

 of Sibbald ; Imber, le grand Plongeon of Button ; 

 Schwarzhalsiger Seetaucher, Eis-taucher, Grosse 

 Hab-ente, and Meer-nocring of the Germans ; In- 

 land Loon of the Hudson's Bay residents ; Turlik of 

 the Greenlanders ; Kagloolek of the Esquimaux; 

 Eithennew Moqua of the Cree Indians; Talkijeh of 

 the Chippewayans ; Trochydd mawrof the ancient 

 British. 



This fine species inhabits the arctic regions of the 

 globe, migrating southwards in winter, during which 

 season numbers frequent our northern coasts, and 

 especially the Frith of Forth, attracted by the shoals 

 of herrings, on which they principally feed. It is 

 occasionally seen about our southern coasts, and 

 has been killed in the Thames below Woolwich. It 

 is remarkable that the great mass of those birds 

 which visit our coast consists of the young of the 

 year, or of the previous year, adults in full plumage 

 being seldom seen, nor are these ever observed on 

 the lakes of Germany, France, or Switzerland. The 

 northern diver breeds on the shores of the inland 

 lakes of the north, and on the islets, which are often 

 studded over by their nests. The eggs, two in 

 number, are large, and of a deep oil green, spotted 

 with purplish red. Dr. Richardson, who had 

 abundant opportunities of observing the manners 

 and habits of the northern diver, remarks that 

 though it " is generally described as an inhabitant of 

 the ocean, we seldom observed it either in the Arctic 

 Sea or Hudson's Bay ; but it abounds .in all the 

 interior lakes, where it destroys vast quantities of 

 fish. It is rarely seen on land, its limbs being ill 

 fitted for walking, though admirably adapted to 

 its aquatic habits. It can swim with great swift- 

 ness, and to a very considerable distance, under the 

 water; and, when it comes to the surface, it seldom 

 exposes more than the neck. It takes wing with 

 difficulty, flies heavily, though swiftly, and fre- 

 quently in a circle round those who intrude on its 

 haunts. Its loud and very melancholy cry, like the 

 howling of the wolf, and at times like the distant 

 scream of a man in distress, is said to portend rain. 

 Its flesh is dark, tough, and unpalatable. We 

 caught several of these birds in the fishing nets, in 

 which they had entangled themselves in the pursuit 

 of fish." 



Montagu informs us that one of these birds, 

 captured on our shores, was kept in a pond for 

 some months. "In a few days," he says, "it be- 

 came extremely docile, would come to the call from 

 one side of the pond to the other, and would take 

 food from the hand. The bird had received an in- 

 jury in the head, which had deprived one eye of its 

 sight, and the other was a little impaired : but, not- 

 withstanding, it could, by incessantly diving, dis- 

 cover all the fish that were thrown into the pond. 

 When it could not get fish it would eat flesh ; and 

 when it quitted the water, it shoved its body along 

 upon the ground like a seal, by jerks, rubbing the 

 breast against the ground ; and returned again to 

 the water in a similar manner. In swimming and 

 diving the legs only were used, and not the wings, 

 and by their situation so far behind, and their 

 little deviation from the line of the body, it is en- 

 abled to propel itself in the water with great 

 velocity in a straight line, as well as turn with 

 astonishing quickness." 



The colours of the adult northern diver are ad- 

 mirably arranged ; head and neck jet black, with a 

 broad "collar of white striated with black, nearly 

 encircling the lower part of the neck, and a similar 

 but narrow collar the upper part. Upper plumage 

 glossy black, thickly dotted with square marks of 

 white, disposed in regular rows ; sides of the chest 

 white striated with black. Under surface pure 

 white ; tail very short ; bill black ; legs dull black ; 

 length thirty-five or thirty-six inches. In the young 

 of the year, the head and upper plumage are gene- 

 rally of a greyish brown ; and the under plumage 

 white. After the second moult, a dark band appears 

 along the neck, and the upper plumage begins to 

 assume indications of the adult character, which is 

 still more developed at the third moult, and is per- 

 fected at the fourth. 



