RED-THROATED DIVER. 25 



small fish, shrimps, leeches, snails, and aquatic insects. The masses of 

 feather-like substances often found in the stomachs of Grebes, I have 

 never met with in this species. Its flesh is oily, tough, dark-coloured, and 

 disagreeable to the taste, although I saw some Mountain Indians feedino- 

 upon it at Labrador with apparent pleasure. 



CoLYMBUs sEPTENTRiONALis, Linn. Syst. Nat. vol. i. p. 220 Lath. Ind. Ornith. 



vol. ii. p. 801 — Ck. Bonap. Synops. of Birds of the United States, p. 421. 

 Red-throated Diver, Coltmbue septentrionalis, Richards and Swains. Fauna 



Eor. Amer. part ii. p. 476 — Nuttall, Manual, vol. ii. p. 519. 



Adult Male in summer. Plate CCII. Fig. 1. 



Bill as long as the head, slender but strong, straight, rather com- 

 pressed, tapering to a point. Upper mandible with the dorsal line almost 

 straight, the ridge convex, as are the sides, the edges sharp and involute ; 

 nasal groove basal, short ; nostrils basal, lateral, direct, oblong, pervious. 

 Lower mandible Math the angle extremely narrow and extending beyond 

 the middle, the dorsal line straight and sloping upwards to the point, the 

 ridge convex, but narrower than that of the upper mandible, the edo-es 

 sharp and involute; the point of both mandibles rather sharp. 



Head of moderate size, oblong, narrowed before. Neck rather lono- 

 and slender. Eyes rather small. Body elongated, somewhat depressed. 

 Wings small. Feet short, rather large, placed very far back ; tibia al- 

 most entirely concealed; tarsus short, exceedingly compressed, sharp- 

 edged before and behind, covered all over with reticulated angular scales; 

 hind toe extremely small, connected with the second by a very small 

 membrane ; the anterior toes united by reticulated membranes, the fourth 

 longest, the third a little shorter, the second considerably shorter than the 

 third ; all covered anteriorly with very narrow transverse scutella, the 

 second toe with a free two-lobed membrane ; claws very small, depressed 

 rounded. 



Plumage short and dense ; of the head and neck very short, blended ; 

 of the lower parts blended, short, and with a silky gloss ; of the upper 

 slightly glossed and somewhat compact ; the feathers in general oblono- 

 and rounded. Wings proportionally very small and narrow, curved ; 

 primaries strong, tapering, first longest, second almost as long, the rest 

 rapidly graduated ; secondaries broad, rounded. Tail extremely short, 

 rounded, of twenty rounded feathers. 



