128 THE BRITISH NATURE BOOK 



brown to olive-green, with a few darker spots, in a mere depression, scantily 

 lined. It feeds chiefly on fish. 



Diver, Great Northern. A very handsome bird, like a large duck when 

 seen swimming, but with a pointed beak. The head and neck are a glossy 

 greenish black ; there are two curious white bands on the throat, striped with 

 dark lines reaching down to the sides of the lower breast ; the black back is 

 covered with white spots in rows ; the under parts are white. In the winter 

 the black changes to brown. The bird is only a winter visitor, its nearest 

 breeding place being Iceland, and is chiefly found in Scotland, Yorkshire, North 

 Wales, and the North and West of Ireland, from October to May. It is a 

 voracious feeder on fish. 



Diver, Bed-throated. Distinguished by its grey head and chestnut-coloured 

 throat, brown back and wings ; under parts white. It is much smaller than 

 the Great Northern Diver, and in breeding plumage without the rows of white 

 spots on the back, although in winter these appear. The bird is resident in 

 parts of the North of Scotland, where it breeds, but is only a winter visitor 

 to our other coasts from August to April. 



It nests generally on the edge of a small lake, making a shallow depression, 

 lined scantily with rushes or heather. Two eggs are laid, chocolate to olive- 

 brown in colour, spotted slightly with black. The bird is mainly a fish eater. 



[Note. All the Divers utter a loud wail, often when on the wing " a blood- 

 curdling scream, often at night." Besides this there is a loud, trumpet-like 

 " Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo," a curious " yapping " like that of a little dog, and other 

 notes.] 



Duck, Long-tailed. This is a large bird (22-24 inches), and is distinguished 

 (in the drake) by the long, thin, pointed tail. It is never a common bird in 

 British waters, and is only a winter visitor, almost entirely confined to the 

 seashore, where it feeds chiefly on molluscs. The drake in winter plumage 

 has a whitish head, shading into brown on the cheeks, and a short black bill, 

 the centre of which is pink. The general appearance is pied (grey, white, 

 brown, and black) ; the duck is a much browner bird. 



The male bird has a loud, musical call "Coal and can'le licht" as the 

 Scots syllable it, or " Calloo " as the bird is nicknamed in the Orkneys. This 

 may be heard often at night as well as by day, and penetrates to a great distance. 



Duck, Scaup (19 inches). The drake has a great deal of black about it, 

 with greenish lustre, the rest being grey and white, with a distinct white 

 patch on the wing. The duck has a conspicuous blaze of white round the beak. 

 This bird breeds very rarely in Scotland ; elsewhere it is a winter visitor and 

 bird of passage, almost entirely in coastal waters. The bird has a harsh call- 

 note, from which its name " Scaup " is derived ; as also a loud cry like " Karr- 

 karr-karr." Large flocks are sometimes found far out at sea by day, only 

 coming to the shore at night. 



Duck, Wild, or MALLARD. This bird is distinguished by its wing spot 

 of steel-blue, with the two sides edged with white and black margins. The 



