Puffin 



The head, nape, and the whole of the upper parts and a 

 broad collar round the throat are black. Scales of the head 

 and under parts white. Legs deep orange. Bill chiefly 

 red and orange. The young resemble the parents, except 

 that the beak is much smaller and the legs are pale flesh- 

 coloured. The mode of growth of their wings is quite dis- 

 tinct from that of the Guillemot, the primaries being grown 

 simultaneously with the rest of the plumage. Length 13 in. ; 

 wing 6 in. 



THE GREAT NORTHERN DIVER 



Colymbus glacialis, Linnaeus 



During autumn and winter this species is by no means 

 rare along our coasts. It does not remain to breed on any 

 part of Great Britain, but breeds to the north-west in 

 Iceland, Greenland, and North America. 



It feeds entirely on fish, and the adults generally keep 

 well out at sea, unless the weather be stormy, so that the 

 individuals that frequent our shores are mostly immature. 



In autumn the young bird has the feathers of the back 

 greyish brown with paler margins ; under parts whitish. 

 Bill brownish horn colour. 



The adult in its breeding dress has the back black, each 

 feather having two square white spots ; the head and neck 

 are black with a purplish gloss, except for two crescentic 

 bands on the fore neck, which are longitudinally striped with 

 white and black. After the autumn moult the whole of the 



383 



