The Black-Throated Diver. '73 



Kamtchatka. It is not found in Iceland, Spitsbergen, or Greenland, but Mr. H. 

 J. Pearson obtained it on Kolguev Island, and observed it on Novaya Zetnlya, 

 finding it breeding in Waigats and common on Dolgoi. It is common in Alaska 

 and across the northern part of North America to Hudson Bay, but, according to 

 Seebohm, is not known to breed further east than Melville Peninsula. American 

 ornithologists distinguish as C. arcticus pacificus, the bird found in the north-west 

 and on the Pacific coast, on account of its paler crown and nape, smaller size, and 

 shorter, more slender and somewhat differently shaped bill ; but examples inter- 

 mediate in size have been procured, and Dr. Coues refers to specimens of both 

 forms from Fraser's River. In winter the smaller bird passes down the Pacific 

 coast in abundance as far as Southern California ; but our bird has only occasionally 

 been noticed in Ontario, and though it migrates as far as the Northern States it 

 is not common there. European birds migrate in winter as far as the Mediter- 

 ranean. It is occasionally seen in the Straits of Gibraltar in winter, and, according 

 to Professor Giglioli (" Ibis," 1881), occurs on the Italian coast oftener than either 

 of the other Divers. It is not uncommon at Heligoland in winter, but has only 

 once been procured in summer dress. Mr. Howard Saunders records an example, 

 preserved in the Museum at Neuchatel, in full breeding plumage, and states that 

 all three Divers are found on the Swiss lakes (" Ibis," 1891, p. 188). 



Like the other Divers, this species passes a good deal of its life on the sea, 

 but for breeding purposes it resorts to fresh-water lakes. But at other seasons 

 also, during its southward wanderings, it is more partial to fresh-water than the 

 other species, and has, taking into consideration its general rarity, been more often 

 shot upon inland waters. In the breeding season it is partial to inland lakes 

 furnished with islands, on which it breeds. 



The nest has been described as a hollow in the ground (often in a grassy 

 place), rarely with any lining, near the water's edge. But Seebohm mentions 

 nests found on North Uist formed on bare shingle, half a yard from the loch 

 edge, which were a foot in diameter and two or three inches high, substantially 

 constructed with stalks and roots, and lined with fresh green grass and herbs. 

 And Messrs. Seebohm and Harvie-Brown found a floating nest made of water- 

 plants, and supported by others, on the edge of a pool, in a marsh on the Petchora. 



The eggs are two in number ; warm or olive-brown, slightly spotted, chiefly 

 near the larger eud, with dark brown or nearly black spots. They "vary in 

 length from 3*5 to 2'Q inch, and in breadth from 2'2 to ro. " (Seebohm). Larger 

 specimens are liable to be mistaken for eggs of the Great Northern Diver. 



According to a note sent by the late Richard Dunn to " Yarrell," the Black- 

 throated Diver, in Scandinavia, makes its first appearance at its breeding haunts 



