504 COLYMBID^E 



Auks which invariably do so, and the Cormorants which shoot 

 through the water with closed wings. Unlike the latter the 

 Great Northern Diver when swimming on the surface, does 

 not carry its neck erect with head and beak pointed up- 

 wards, on the contrary, as already mentioned, the neck is 

 held out almost horizontally, while the beak nearly touches 

 the surface of the sea. In this way the two species can be 

 identified even at a moderate distance. 



On land it progresses with an awkward and shuffling 

 gait. Sir E. Payne-Gallwey, who kept one alive (uninjured) 

 on a yacht for a week, describes its movements. " The bird 

 could move about as it liked, yet never attempted to fly, 

 but slid along on its breast, with its wings beating the 

 deck and its legs working as if in the act of swimming. 

 It became fairly tame, and bolted salted herrings whole, 

 but its mournful cries at night disturbed the sleep of all 

 on board, and I gladly returned the bird to its natural 

 element" ('Letters to Young Shooters,' Third Series, 

 pp. 195-6). 



Flight. Though moderately swift and powerful when 

 once started on the wing, this bird confines itself mainly 

 to the water and depends largely on its diving-capacities 

 to elude observation. It generally manages to get out of 

 shallow water by floundering over the surface in an excited 

 manner, but when once stranded on dry land it appears 

 unable to rise. 



Voice. The voice varies from a melancholy howl to a 

 shrill startling blast or trumpet-like note. It sounds like 

 gulli-gulli-a-od-bo, which shortens to trd-uo-oo, or illi-oa-ow. 

 A low croak is also heard at times. 



Food. The main diet consists of fish, including small 

 plaice, flounders, dabs, and other flat-fish. 1 For these the 

 bird dives to a great depth, and has been captured in nets 

 many fathoms below the surface. Crabs and shell-fish are 

 also eaten, as well as small fry picked from the surface. 



Nest. The nest is formed on the ground, on a small 

 island or near the edge of a lake, amid coarse herbage such 

 as sedges and rushes ; in some localities it is more openly 

 situated, being a mere hollow in the dry ground. It is 

 always quite close to water, and a beaten track is usually 

 present, made by the bird on its passage to and fro. 



1 In smooth shallow channels and creeks I have noticed this species 

 searching apparently for flat-fish on the sandy sea-floor. 



