24<J cassell's book of birds. 



breedmg season or in the course of their winter migrations. Like the Grebes, they transact all their 

 business in the water. They swim with the utmost ease to very considerable distances, and rest 

 themselves by lying as it were flat upon the surface of the sea ; sometimes, however, they sink their 

 bodies to such a depth that only a small portion of the back is visible. Now they are seen gliding 

 leisurely along over the tranquil waves, and now with the rapidity of lightning they disappear 

 apparently without the slightest effort, and without causing any perceptible disturbance in the water. 

 No sooner are they submerged, than they stretch themselves out to their full length, their feathers 

 become flat and smooth, their wings are pressed close to their sides, and thus presenting a shape 

 beautifully adapted to their work, they shoot through the water with arrow-like speed, now in one 

 direction, now in another ; sometimes swimming along close beneath the surface, sometimes plunging 

 to a depth of several fathoms in pursuit of the fishes upon which they feed. 



"To see them from some promontory," says Mudie. "against which the air and the sea are setting 

 full wind and tide, and driving before them myriads of herrings and other fishes, is a glorious sight. 

 They dash along the surface, they dart under it, they bounce up again, they bore through the advancing 

 waves, and when the billow breaks in foam and thunders over them, and the spectator naturally 

 concludes they are buried for ever in the deep, up they spring to the surface of the unbroken water 

 farther from the land, as though exulting in the fury of the elements." This facility for swimming and 

 diving they enjoy from their earliest infancy, and to it they trust as a means of escape from danger. It 

 is seldom that they set foot upon dry land ; indeed, even when they visit the shore they can scarcely 

 be said to do so, they might rather be said to slide out of the water on to the beach ; as to walking, in 

 the ordinary acceptation of* the term, that is quite out of their power — indeed, they are unable to 

 support themselves in an upright position ; by the efforts of their feet and wings, aided by their neck 

 and beak, they creep, or rather tumble over the ground until they regain their proper element. Then- 

 powers of flight are very limited, nevertheless it is a pretty sight to see them plunge from some high 

 cliff into the waters beneath, the efforts of their wings only serving to give an oblique direction to their 

 downward career, as they shoot headlong into the deep, and immediately disappear beneath the 

 waves. 



The Divers appear to avoid the company of other birds, and indeed seldom associate with those 

 of their own kind, except during the breeding season — at which time they may be seen in pairs. Their 

 food consists exclusively of fishes overtaken in the water or brought up from the bottom of the sea ; 

 of these they seem to prefer the mid-sea swimmers, but flat fishes, such as small plaice and soles, form 

 likewise a considerable part of their diet. Graba informs us, that from his window he has often seen 

 them bring up flounders of considerable size, in disposing of which they showed considerable dexterity. 

 If too large to be swallowed whole, they were dropped into the water and devoured piecemeal. Even 

 a herring seemed to be a somewhat unmanageable morsel ; but the smaller fry were at once made 

 away with. When the breeding season approaches, all the different species of Divers betake 

 themselves to lakes of fresh water, at some little distance from the coast, and sometimes at a 

 considerable altitude above the level of the sea. Their harsh-sounding cry is now uttered more 

 frequently than usual, especially towards evening, at which time they come down to the shore and 

 throw themselves from the rocks into the ocean, in order to procure a supply of food. Their nest is 

 generally built upon some small island in the middle of the lake or pond, or should such a situation 

 not offer itself, upon the margin, but always close to the water ; it is rudely constructed of sedge-grass 

 and reeds, negligently heaped together and frequently without the slightest attempt at concealment, 

 insomuch as the sitting bird is rather a conspicuous object, and may be seen from a considerable 

 distance. Upon this rude nest the female lays two eggs of an elongated shape, having a strong, 

 coarse-grained, but somewhat polished shell. The two sexes take their turn in the incubation of the 



