BLACK-THROATED DIVER. 437 



by the female, whose progress upon land is effected by 

 shuffling along upon her belly, propelled by her legs behind. 

 On the day following, Saturday the 31st of May, Mr. J. 

 Wilson was fortunate enough to find two newly hatched 

 young ones in a small creek of Loch Craggie, about two 

 and a half miles from Lairg. After handling and ex- 

 amining them, during which the old birds approached 

 very near to him, he left them in the same spot, know- 

 ing that we were anxious to obtain the old birds. Ac- 

 cordingly on the Monday morning we had the boat con- 

 veyed to the loch, and, on our arrival, soon descried 

 the two old birds attended by their young, and appa- 

 rently moving to a different part of the loch. Contrary 

 to their usual habit at other times, they did not 

 attempt to dive upon our approach, but kept swim- 

 ming around their young, which, from their tender age, 

 were unable to make much way in the water, and we 

 got sufficiently near to shoot both of them through the 

 'neck and head, the only parts accessible to shot, as they 

 swim with the whole body nearly submerged. The female 

 could only be distinguished from the male by a slight 

 inferiority of size, and both were in the finest adult, or 

 summer plumage. We afterwards saw several pairs upon 

 various lochs, and upon Loch Kay a pair, attended by two 

 young ones nearly half grown. When swimming, they 

 are in the constant habit of dipping their bill in the water, 

 with ti graceful motion of the head and neck." The egg, 

 measuring two inches and three-quarters in length, by one 

 inch and ten lines in breadth, is of a dark olive-brown, 

 thinly spotted with dark umber brown. 



Mr. Thompson has recorded the occurrence of the Black- 

 throated Diver in the north of Ireland ; and Mr J. Mac- 

 gillivray states it as ascertained that it breeds in North 

 Uist, one of the Outer Hebrides. The Rev. Mr. Low says 



