ORDER PALMIPEDES. 631 



rings ; it nestles in small islets on the edge of fresh waters ; 

 and the three eggs which the female lays, are marked with 

 great and small spots, of a purplish-ash, on a ground of 

 Isabella white. Lewin is of opinion, that this diver, like the 

 grebes, makes its nest, which floats upon the water, in retired 

 places. 



This bird is called Imhrim in the Feroe islands, Ember- 

 goose in the Orkneys, and in Greenland Tuglek, or Tudlik. 

 Though it flies but seldom, it rises to a very considerable 

 height. When it has young ones, instead of sinking in the 

 water to escape from its enemies, it attacks them boldly with 

 its bill. Its feathers constitvxte an article of clothing for 

 many of the northern tribes. 



The Colymbus Arcticua is very rarely seen on the coasts 

 of England or France, but is very common in the north of 

 Europe, and frequently found on the lakes of Siberia, Ice- 

 land, Greenland, and even in Hudson's Bay. The Laplan- 

 ders make their winter bonnets with its down, and in Norway 

 its destruction is prohibited, because its cries serve as a pre- 

 sage of fine weather, or of rain. Fish, frogs, and insects con- 

 stitute its food ; and it makes, in reeds, and on the borders of 

 lakes, a nest, in which the female deposits two eggs, marked 

 with black spots upon a brown ground. 



To the Guillemots the attribute of stupidity has been 

 generally applied ; yet probably without sufficient reflection 

 on the peculiar conformation of the birds, and the inconve- 

 niences which must result from that peculiar conformation. 

 The wings are so short and narrow, that the guillemot can 

 scarcely flutter. The legs, from their position, are quite 

 unfit for the purpose of walking ; and the natural element of 

 the bird is only on the bosom of the sea, where it swims Avith 

 the greatest swiftness, and even dives below the ice. 



The guillemots are nearly strangers to the temperate cli- 

 mates of Europe, though Pennant, on the authority of a 



