294 



is darted out with nearly as much rapidity as that of 

 a bittern, and as the bird is heavier, the bill thrusts like 

 a bayonet, so that both bird and nest are tolerably 

 well secured from the predatory quadrupeds of those 

 places. In the summer season these birds subsist almost 

 entirely on the smaller species of surface fishes, or the 

 young of the larger ones ; and, notwithstanding their 

 size and weight, in the capture of their prey their 

 adroitness is very great. They have equal address in 

 avoiding danger, which renders it very difficult to 

 shoot them on the water ; for as they dive, the shot 

 glances, and they are safe. Sometimes, however, they 

 are taken, or rather take themselves, on the baited 

 hooks of the fishermen's lines, and at other times they 

 get entangled in nets at greater depths below the 

 surface than one would be apt to suppose. 



In winter they migrate southwards, and on their 

 migratory journeys they are capable of lofty and rapid 

 flight. The young are the most prone to take these 

 excursions ; and as they make their way to the inland 

 lakes of France and Germany, and sometimes even 

 as far as Switzerland. The descriptions of these young 

 ones have led to some of the confusion which there is 

 about the species. They are not rare upon some 

 places of the north coast of Scotland in the winter 

 season, but they seldom make their appearance on the 

 English shores unless the winter is very severe. 



These birds, and indeed all the diving birds of the 

 Polar seas, are remarkably well defended against the 

 cold to which they are exposed in their dives. Their 

 skins are remarkably strong and tough ; and the down 

 upon them among the roots of the feathers is very 

 close. They have also a pretty thick layer of fat all 

 over the body, immediately under the skin. Their 

 skins are so strong, and the down upon them adheres 

 so firmly, that the people of the northern islands dress 

 and tan them, and make of them very warm and 

 durable articles of clothing. 



The voice of these birds is strong, harsh, and 

 peculiar, and resembles more the barking of a dog 

 than the sound uttered by almost any other of the 

 feathered creation. They are in short altogether very 

 extraordinary birds. 



RED-THROATED DIVER Colymbus septcntrionalis. 

 This is a much smaller species than the former, but it 

 is more elegantly made. The length does not exceed 

 two feet, or the weight much more than three pounds. 

 The bill is about three inches long, slender and 

 pointed, of a black colour, and slightly curved upwards. 

 The crown of the head and back of the neck are 

 purplish black with raised white margins to the 

 feathers. The sides of the neck and head and cheeks 

 are dark grey ; the upper part is very dark olive with 

 the margins of the feathers paler, and the coverts of 

 the wings dusky with white spots. The front of the 

 neck is brownish-red, from which the name of red- 

 throated diver is derived; the rest of the under part is 

 silvery white with a black bar on the vent. The young 

 differ considerably, not only from the old, but in the 

 different stages in their own growth. At first they 

 are all over dusky on the upper part, and dull 

 white on the under ; and next the grey on the head 

 appears, and the back is spotted. The third change 

 which they undergo is the acquiring of the mature 

 plumage, and the reddish brown on the throat. 



In some parts of the country, Orkney, we believe, 

 this species is called the rain-goose ; because when 

 it screams, or rather croaks, the people of that country 

 say that it predicts rain. It is probable, however, that 



DIVING WATER SPIDER. 



there is not very much truth in this prophecy ; and 

 yet many birds, both of the land and the sea, are 

 apt to be clamorous before foul weather. , 



Like the former species, this one breeds in the 

 marshes. It is more abundant in the more northerly 

 of the Scottish islands, and more discursive to the 

 British bays and estuaries in the winter, being found 

 in the Thames, though not very frequently. The 

 eggs of this species are very much elongated, of an 

 olive brown colour, and marked with a few dusky 

 spots. The nest is made with some care of moss and 

 grass, and the female lines it with down from her 

 own breast. 



Red-throated Diver. 



THE BLACK-THROATED DIVER Colymbus arcticus. 

 This one is a little larger than the former, being about 

 three inches longer, four inches more in the stretch of 

 the wings, and nearly a pound heavier. The front, 

 the throat, the fore neck, and the back and rump are 

 black ; the sides of the neck mottled black and white ; 

 the sides of the back and scapules black with white 

 spots. The habits agree pretty nearly with those of 

 the others, the nests being also on the margins of 

 lakes ; the eggs are also two in number ; but unlike 

 those of the last species, they are white. The young 

 are dusky above and white below at the first ; the 

 head next becomes grey, and the sides of the head 

 spotted with black ; and the last stage of the plumage 

 is the appearance of the black on the fore neck, and 

 the black and white mottlings on the sides of the 

 back and the scapulars. 



DIVING WATER SPIDER (ARGYRONETA, 

 Latreille), a genus of pulmonary arachnida, belonging 

 to the family Arane'idce, but forming, according to 

 Walckenaer, a distinct family named Naycudcs. The 

 four central eyes form a quadrangle, the two lateral 

 ones on each side touching each other, and placed upon 

 a slight eminence ; the first and fourth pairs of legs 

 are the longest. The type species Aranea aquatica 

 (Linnseus), is very common, and of a brownish black 

 colour, with the abdomen silky, and with four im- 

 pressed spots on the back. It resides in slow running 

 waters and ditches, in which it swims about with a 

 bubble of air attached to its abdomen, and spinning a 

 most beautifully constructed web of white silk, in the 

 form of half the shell of a pigeon's egg, or like a diving 

 bell, with the mouth downwards, as its retreat, at the 

 bottom of the water, and which is attached by nume- 

 rous threads to the surrounding plants. In this it 

 'devours its prey, and deposits its bundle of eggs.which 



