LETTER XXI. 155 



feature, and add very much to the quaint appearance of this queer 

 species of water-fowl. The iris is a rich ruby red, with an 

 extremely fine exterior thread of white running round it. I have 

 compared these specimens with a similar one shot in Canada, 

 where it is abundant on the large lakes and rivers. It there 

 rejoices in the descriptive and euphonious title of " Hell-diver." 

 The most remarkable difference is that in the American specimen 

 the horns are connected by a band of the same bright orange buff 

 running across the forehead at the base of the bill. This makes 

 a very characteristic difference in the personal appearance of the 

 two birds, which otherwise seem identical, and seems to be so 

 considered by Wilson, who simply calls it Colymbus, or Podiceps 

 Cornutus, as we do our Horned Grebe on this side of the 

 Atlantic. 



So much for the notes of the season, as noted on the banks of 

 the Gilp, which, you see, is a very inferior post of observation to 

 Columba's old isle. 





