PODICIPINJE. COLYMBUS. 207 



long, anteriorly narrowed ; neck long, thick ; body very 

 large, elliptical, much depressed. Feet short, placed very 

 far back ; tibia almost entirely concealed ; tarsus short, ex- 

 tremely compressed, edged before and behind, reticulated ; 

 hind toe extremely small, with a very small membrane ; an- 

 terior toes slender, connected by membranes, the outer toe 

 longest ; claws very small, depressed, obtuse. Plumage 

 short, dense ; the feathers oblong ; wings very small and 

 narrow, curved, acute, with the first quill longest ; tail ex- 

 tremely short, rounded, of more than twelve feathers. 



Extremely expert divers, feeding on fishes, both marine 

 and lacustrine. They form a rude nest on the margins of 

 lakes, lay two or three elongated, olivaceous, spotted eggs. 

 The young presently betake themselves to the water. Two 

 species are common in Britain, a third of rare occurrence, 



276. COLYMBUS GLACIALIS. KING-NECKED LOON. 



Adult about three feet long, with the bill almost quite 

 straight, three inches in length along the ridge, an inch in 

 height at the base, with the sides flattened, the edges little 

 inflected ; the head and neck deep bluish-green glossed with 

 purple ; a patch on the throat, and a broad ring, incomplete 

 in front, on the neck, of white longitudinally streaked with 

 black; the upper parts black, the middle of the back and 

 scapulars with quadrangular, its fore and hind parts, and the 

 wings, with small round white spots, of which there are two 

 on each feather ; the sides of the lower neck streaked with 

 white and black ; the lower parts white, but {he sides black, 

 spotted with white, and a narrow dusky band across the hind 

 part of the abdomen. Young in winter with the bill greenish- 

 yellow, dusky on the ridge; upper plumage dark greyish- 

 brown, the feathers edged with paler ; lower parts white j 

 sides of neck streaked with dusky, of body like the back. 



Male, 36, 55, 15|, 3 T 3 2 -, 3 T \, 4^, T %. Female, 32, 52. 



The Great Northern Diver, as this bird is usually called, 

 is not very numerous with us, nor permanently resident. 

 Narrow channels, friths, voes, sea-lochs, and sandy bays, are 

 its favourite places of resort. It swims with great speed, 

 sinking partially when alarmed, dives with great celerity, can 

 remain a long time under water, and, on account of its vigi- 

 lance and dexterity, is very difficult to be shot. From the 

 middle of spring to the end of May, it is common along our 

 northern coasts, and from October to spring young birds espe- 



