30 GREAT NORTHERisr DIVER. 



This species seldom visits the shores of Britain, except in very severe 

 ■winters ; but it is met with in the north of Europe, and spreads along 

 the arctic coast as far as the mouth of the river Ob, in the dominions 

 of Russia. It is found about Spitzbergen, Iceland and Hudson's Bay. 

 Makes its nest, in the more northern regions, on the little isles of fresh- 

 water lakes ; every pair keep a lake' to themselves. It sees well, flies 

 very high, and, darting obliquely, falls secure into its nest. Appears 

 in Greenland in April or the beginning of May ; and goes a,way in 

 September or October, on the first fall of snow.* It is also found at 

 Nootka Sound,f and Kamtschatka. 



The Barabinzians, a nation situated between the river Ob and the 

 Irtisch, in the Russian dominions, tan the breasts of this and other 

 water fowl, whose skins they prepare in such a maiftier as to preserve 

 the down upon them ; and, sewing a number of these' together, they sell 

 them to make pelisses, caps, &c. Garments made of these are very 

 warm, never imbibing the least moisture ; and are more lasting than 

 could be imagined. I 



The natives of Greenland use the skins for clothing ; and the Indians 

 about Hudson's Bay adorn their heads with circlets of their feathers.§ 



Lewis and Clark's party, at the mouth of the Columbia, saw robes 

 made of the skins of Loons ;|| and abundance of these birds during the 

 time that they wintered at Fort Clatsop on that river. ^ 



The Laplanders, according to Regnard, cover their heads with a cap 

 made of the skin of a Loom (Loon), which word signifies in their lan- 

 guage lame, because the bird cannot walk well. They place it on their 

 head in such a manner, that the bird's head falls over their brow, and 

 its wings cover their ears. 



"Northern Divers," says Hearne, "though common in Hudson's 

 Bay, are by no means plentiful ; they are seldom found near the coast, 

 but more frequently in fresh-water lakes, and usually in pairs. They 

 build their nests at the edge of small islands, or the margins of lakes 

 or ponds ; they lay only two eggs, and it is very common to find only 

 one pair and their young in one sheet of water : a great proof of 

 their aversion to society. They are known in Hudson's Bay by the 

 name of Loons." ** 



The Great Northern Diver measures two feet ten inches from the tip 

 of the bill to the end of the tail, and four feet six inches in breadth ; 

 the bill is strong, of a glossy black, and four inches and three-quarters 

 long to the corner of the mouth ; the edges of the bill do not fit exactly 



* Pennant. \ Cook's Last Voy. ii., p. 237, Am. ed. 



X Latham. g Arctic Zoology. 



II Gass's Journal. % History of the Expedition, vol. ii., p.l89. 



** Hearne's Journey, p. 429, quarto. 



