182 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



294. The family of Divers have short wings, and their 

 legs are so far back on the body that they always are 

 erect when they stand. They live on fish, which they 

 catch by diving. They are inhabitants of the northern 

 regions. The Grebes, a branch of this family, are not 

 web -footed, but have their toes separate and broadly 

 fringed along their edges. Each toe is therefore a pad- 

 dle. It is supposed that this arrangement enables the 

 bird to swim easily where there is much vegetation in 

 the water. The quickness with which the Grebes dive 

 is wonderful. They have been seen to dive quickly enough 

 to avoid the shot of a gun on hearing the report, and 

 come up at the distance of two hundred yards. They 



get along very poorly 

 on land, for they are 

 obliged to lie their 

 whole length and 

 then shuffle along like 

 seals. The Crested 

 Grebe, Figure 149, is 

 found in Scotland and 

 England. 



295. The Auks 

 have, like the Divers, 

 very short wings, and 

 their feet are set far 

 back. They use their 

 wings in swimming 

 as the whales do their 

 flippers and as fishes 

 do their fins, so that 

 they may be said to fly in the water. They use their 

 webbed feet, also, at the same time. The Great Auk, a 

 bird three feet in length, is an inhabitant of the arctic 

 regions. So, also, is the Puffin, another of this family. 

 The Auks and Puffins of the northern regions are rep- 

 resented by the Penguins in the southern hemisphere. 



Fig. 149. -Crested Grebe. 



