DIVERS, GREBES, AND CORMORANTS. 163 



degrees of frost, an easterly wind, and a snowstorm 

 in the evening. The Divers were by no means 

 alone in their distress, for hundreds of thousands 

 of Ducks, Geese, and Swans, Curlews, Dunlins, 

 and Oyster - catchers, passed from east to west. 

 From early morning until noon, on both days in 

 succession, the Divers were seen in one incessant 

 stream, travelling north-east, in numbers estimated 

 almost by the million ! Well may Gatke have 

 wondered . whence such vast multitudes came, and 

 whither they were going, and what was the initial 

 cause of such gregarious instincts, never manifested 

 in this Diver under any ordinary circumstances. 



The Red-throated Diver is a master at the art 

 of diving, and is often seen slowly to sink its body 

 under water when alarmed. It also flies with great 

 strength and speed, and is said to show more 

 preference for flying than either of its congeners. 

 The food of this Diver is chiefly composed of fish. 

 Its ordinary note is a harsh ak or hark ; but at the 

 nesting places the same wild unearthly cries are 

 uttered that are equally characteristic of the other 

 species. These cries are said to foretell rain or 

 rough weather, and have caused the bird to be 

 called "Rain Goose" in many Highland districts. 

 The Red-throated Diver, however agile and grace- 

 ful it may be in the water or even in the air, is a 

 clumsy object on the land, incapable of walking 

 upright, owing to the backward position of its legs, 

 and compelled to shuffle along with its breast 



