OBSERVATIONS ON CANADIAN BIRDS, 137 
are found in the bay, all of which are known to the gunners by the 
somewhat suggestive name of “ Helldiver.”’ An examination of these 
birds shows the most wonderful adaptation to their peculiar mode of 
life. Their food being obtained entirely under water, and their nest 
being only a few inches above its level, they have little occasion to be 
on land. When surprised in that situation, they seem most helpless, 
their legs being placed so far aft, they are unable to keep the body in 
anything like a horizontal position, and so make poor progress 
in walking, but the moment they reach the water, they disappear 
under the surface, and are not again seen while the cause of alarm 
remains. The plumage of this species is of the most compact and 
silky texture, and is never penetrated by water while the bird is in 
life. The legs are placed far behind the centre of gravity, to give it 
greater power in swimming, and are much compressed so as to offer 
the least possible resistance to water, while the toes, in place of being 
connected with a web as in the duck, are each furnished with a 
separate membrane, which enables the bird to pass with ease and 
celerity through the tangled masses of water-plants, among which its 
favorite food is found. In some parts of the European continent the 
skin of the Grebe is much prized as trimming for ladies’ dresses ; and 
in olden time, when the fowling piece was a less perfect instrument 
than at present, considerable difficulty was found in supplying the 
demand, as the Grebe being a most expert diver, disappeared at the 
first flash of the gun, and was under water ere the shot could reach 
it. Since the invention of the percussion cap, however, they are 
more readily killed, and were any of our Hamilton ladies desirous of 
having a dozen or two of Grebes skins for trimmings, I have no doubt 
the birds would be forthcoming. At present there being no 
demand for the skins, and the flesh being unsuitable for the table, 
they are not much disturbed. 
Of the three species alluded to, one is a winter visitor, the other 
two remain during summer and rear their young in the Dundas 
marsh and the reedy inlets of the bay. They are well protected with 
feathers, yet seem very sensitive to the cold, moving off to the south 
at the first touch of frost, returning again about the latter end of 
April. . 
I have thus alluded to only a few of our more remarkable birds. 
The total number of species observed in the near vicinity of the city, 
from May, 1856, to the present time, amounts to 2U6, each of which 
