RED-THROATED DIVER. 23 



cubation and immediately after it, I carefully examined them, and found 

 all of them fully covered with down, they being, in this respect, quite 

 different from the Eider Duck, the Velvet Duck, the Harlequin Duck, 

 and other species of that family, nay even from the Black Guillemot, of 

 which I shall speak in the present volume. Probably it is on account of 

 those birds breeding much farther north, that, according to Dr Richard- 

 son, they there line their nest with down. We also found the Colymbus gla- 

 cialis incubating without any in its nest. The idea generally entertained 

 that this species never lays more than two eggs I found equally incorrect, 

 for of five nests, two contained two eggs each, two had three each, and 

 the fifth had three young birds. The eggs measure 3 inches in length 

 by 1 1 in breadth, and are of an elongated elliptical form, nearly equally 

 rounded at both ends ; they are of a deep olive-brown colour, irregularly 

 marked with spots of a darker dull brown. The male incubates as well 

 as the female, and both are extremely solicitous about the safety of their 

 young, which betake themselves to the water on the day succeeding that 

 of their escape from the egg, and are from the first most expert swimmers 

 and divers. Two of the young were shot by Captain Emery, having 

 been easily approached in the absence of their parents, at which he had 

 shot without success, they not having yet learned from experience the dan- 

 ger of the proximity of man. They dived beautifully, and swam with 

 great buoyancy, inclining their necks forwards, in the manner of the old 

 birds. This was on the Sth July 1833. On the 15th of the same month, 

 Thomas Lincoln and my son John Woodhodse, saw several young 

 ones, which, although quite small, were equally expert at diving. When 

 swimming by the side of their mother they floated high, with the neck 

 quite erect, while the old bird swam deep, with her neck inclined forward. 

 When the little ones dived, they moved under the water like so many 

 turtles, and at last were caught on the bottom of the pcmd, which was 

 small and shallow, by placing the gun-rods upon them. So averse from 

 moving are the old birds when sitting on their eggs, that they will not 

 bestir themselves until in imminent danger, on which, however, they 

 scramble to the water, dive, and, on emerging, immediately rise on wing 

 without uttering any note. The male only is noisy on such occasions, 

 and more especially when it returns from afar to its mate, when it evinces 

 its satisfaction by calling aloud, as it repeatedly passes and repasses over 

 the spot, and then alights in a pompous manner on the water. 



The sexes differ materially in size, the male birds being much larger 



