220 BIRD WATER TRESPASSERS. 



and that persons who are walking near the edge of the 

 cliff can hear the Puffins uttering their peculiar grunting 

 cry beneath their feet. 



While engaged in digging, they are so intent 

 upon their work that they can be taken by hand. 

 Generally, however, the Puffin resents vastly any 

 intrusion into its domicile, biting fiercely with the 

 sharp-edged beak, from which the bird has derived 

 the popular name of coulter-neb i.e., with a beak 

 resembling the coulter of a plough. 



GREAT NORTHERN DIVER (Colymbus gladalis}. 



Another of our water trespassers among the 

 birds is the Great Northern Diver. This bird is 

 seldom seen on the coast of England, being, as its 

 name implies, a northern species. 



It is nearly as aquatic in its habits as the penguin, 

 and, like that bird, spends much more of its time in 

 the sea than on shore. As may be inferred from its 

 popular name, it is a great adept at diving, being 

 able to swim for a considerable distance under water, 

 and to endure a submersion of more than three minutes 

 without needing to breathe. It is said to be able to 

 swim at the rate of some seven or eight miles an hour, 

 and this is likely to be the case, as the swiftest boat 

 can scarcely approach near enough for a shot. I may 

 here mention that the generic name, " Colymbus," is 

 of Greek origin, and signifies a diver. 



It obtains most of its food from the sea, but, as is 

 the case with many marine birds, is sometimes driven 



