DIvErR. NATATORES. COLYMBUS. 407 
common winter visitant. ‘The state in which it is most fre- 
quently met with (speaking of the district in which I reside), 
is as the bird of the year; at this age answering to the Im- 
ber Diver of our authors (Colymbus Immer), and long sup- 
posed to be a distinct species. The next in number are birds 
of more than one year old, which have undergone, or are 
then undergoing, a second general moult, at which time the 
white spots upon the upper plumage begin to appear, and 
the head and neck to grow darker. The adult bird (Colym- 
bus glacialis of authors), is comparatively but rarely met 
with, and out of more than twenty specimens which have at 
different times come under my observation, not more than 
two had attained maturity. Dr Fiemine also states, that in 
Shetland, where the young are numerous, few old birds oc- 
cur, but that in the Orkneys both old and young abound 
during the winter. The Frith of Forth is also a favourite 
resort, to which they are attracted by the shoals of herring 
that reside there, and are even caught throughout the winter; 
and in this gulf some of the finest specimens I have seen of 
the adult bird have been obtained. It has not yet been as- 
certained whether any remain to breed here, as its congener 
the Red-throated species is known to do, the old birds all 
apparently retirimg on the approach of spring to higher lati- 
tudes for this purpose. During summer they quit the ocean 
and inhabit the fresh-water lakes of the countries to which 
they migrate, and upon the shores of these lakes, and on the 
islets by which they are often studded over, the Divers form 
their nests and hatch their young. The nest is always close 
to the water’s edge, so as to afford every facility to a bird 
whose motions on land are necessarily very constrained. The 
eggs, which never exceed two in number, are large, and of a 
deep oil-green colour, with variously sized spots of purplish- 
red. This species is widely distributed throughout the 
arctic regions of Europe and Asia, and is equally common 
in the corresponding latitudes of North America. Dr Ricu- 
ARDSON, In the Fauna Americe Borealis, describes it as 
Nest, &c. 
