126 BRITISH BIRDS. 



was obtained of the tail of the fish at the other, induced the fishermen to 

 believe that they had fallen in with some rare nondescript ; and the ' sea-staff ' 

 was immediately put in requisition to secure the interesting prize. By a 

 dexterous use of this effective weapon the fish was hooked and secured, and 

 the whole affair incontinently hauled in triumph over the gunwale. The 

 principal actor in this scene was then at once recognized as an old acquaint- 

 ance by the boat's crew : his jaws were unceremoniously wrenched open, and 

 the bird, still alive, released from its uncomfortable position. The victim of 

 this novel strait proved to be a fine specimen of that large and powerful 

 species the Great Northern Diver (^Colymhus glacialis), a bird unsur- 

 passed for its speed and power in the water, which it only leaves occa- 

 sionally in the breeding-season. It is generally known on the north-east 

 coast of Scotland, where it occurs at intervals, as the ' Loon ' or ' Ember 

 Goose.' The fish, which measured between three and four feet in length, is 

 the Lophius piscatorius of the scientific naturalist, but known on the Caithness 

 coast as the ' Mersgam ' or ' Oof,' the latter probably a corruption of ' wolf.' 

 It is also known as the Fishing-frog or Angler, the latter name derived from 

 the singular manner in which it entices its prey within reach. The mouth of 

 this fish is of extraordinary width ; and from the top of its head rises a series 

 of delicate, stalk-like appendages, terminated by glistening filaments, bearing 

 a pretty close resemblance to certain marine worms. The animal remains 

 stationary in some favourable position, and the vibration of these appendages 

 attracts small fishes, which are at once seized upon and deposited in the 

 capacious maw of the Lophius. It is probable that the bird in this instance 

 had been deceived by this tempting lure into thrusting its head into such 

 dangerous proximity, and that the fish had suddenly closed its jaws upon it, 

 and refused or was unable to relax its hold until it was secured in the manner 

 related above. The flesh of the Lophius is held in no repute. — John O' Groat 

 Journal." 



