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 
art obliged to he their 
| AN we, vhole length and 
then shuffle along like 
seals. The Crested 
Grebe, Figure 149, is 
found in Scotland and 
Hngland. 
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. 
fh 
Yigg 
Fig. 149.—Crested Grebe. 
