THE SPECIES. 



89 



The nest is always in caves, and often dry only at low water ; it is a very slight flat arrange- 

 ment of seaweed, grass, and sticks, with now and then a sprig of heather. There are two 

 eggs. 



The Stock Dove— Dimensions, Kr ; Eggs, Tg — is most abundant in the Midlands, Its 

 note is a short **coo-oo." Its flight is light and swift, with busy beats and a glide 

 downwards. The female is not so pink on the chest as the male. The eggs are laid in a 

 rabbit-burrow, or in a. hole in a tree, and generally no nest is built, but sometimes a few 

 twigs and roots are. scratched together. 



The Ring Dove— Dimensions, Ng ; Eggs, Kn— is the well known Wood Pigeon. Its 

 note is "coo-oo-coo, coo-oo-coo," and it is easily recognisable on the wing by its white 

 collar and wing bars. Its flight is light, deliberate, and persistent, and its gait is of the 

 strutting, head-bobbing variety. Its nest is generally in a tree, and so lightly built of sticks 

 that the two eggs can be seen in it from below. The female has a fainter collar than the 

 male. 



Colymbus. Plate xxxii. 



COL Y MB I DM, 



•^'^.sefientrionaUs,^^vs\. Red-throated Diver. Throat grey and red 



head streaked black and while and patched wilh 



grey ; bill black, 

 jSa. arcticus, 26 in. Black-throated Diver. Throat black ; head 



streaked with black and white and patched with 



grey ; bill black. 

 380. glacialis, 33 in. Great Northern Diver. Throat with two 



black rings, and two black and white rings streaked 



vertically ; bill black. 

 3S1. adatnsi, 36 in. Yellow-billed Diver. Throat with black and 



black and white rings ; bill pale yellow. 



The Red-throated Diver^Dimensions, Qo ; Eggs, Ro — is the commonest of the family in 

 this country and breeds in the North of Scotland and the islands off the coast. Its dusky 

 brown back is streaked with oval spots. Its legs are greenish black, and its feet are 

 yellowish. In autumn the red on the throat is not always present. In winter the browns 

 become greys, and the underparts are pure white. This bird is the Rain Goose, whose call 

 of '' ak-ak-kakera-kakera," is rarely heard except when rain is approaching. The female is 

 similar in plumage to the male. There is no nest as a rule, although now and then the 

 hollow in which the eggs are laid may be lined with a few leaves. There are two eggs, and 

 they are generally laid so near the water as to be wet underneath. 



The Black-throated Diver — Dimensions, Rm ; Eggs, Sg — is rarer, but is also found 

 breeding in the north country. It maybe known from the Red-throat by its having red 

 eyes instead of brown. In winter it is brown above, with white spots, and pure white below. 

 There are about a dozen white bars on the scapulars, which are constant ail the year round. 

 The sexes are alike in plumage. The flight is very swift and so is the diving. The note is 

 a noisy "deoch ! deoch 1 deoch ! tha'n loch a traoghadh," which is the Gaelic rendering of 

 " drink 1 drink I drink 1 the loch is nearly dry I " The nest is of reeds and water plants, 

 lined with grass, and is generally so near the water as to be half afloat. There are two 

 eggs. 



The Great Northern Diver — Dimensions, Sm ; Eggs, Sm — loses the throat band in the 

 winter and becomes brown above, with a great increase of the white spots. Its eyes are red. 

 It breeds in the Western Isles. The flight is rapid and straight, and the cry a "who? who?" 

 generally heard at night, with an occasional ' karok." There are two or three eggs ; the 

 nest is of reeds and water plants, and can be recognised by the bird making a path to it 

 from the water. The sexes are alike in plumage. 



The Yellow-billed Diver — Dimensions, Ss ; Eggs, Sk — sometimes called the White-billed 

 Diver, is an American straggler of which only a few specimens have been identified in this 

 country, the first having been shot at Lowestoft, in 1852. 



Coracias. Plate xiL 



^53- ^arrula. 



COR AC I ID M. 



13 in. Roller, Head and nape green or blue ; mantle 

 chestnut ; wings black, and light and dark blue ; 

 chin white ; underparts blue or green ; 23 remiges ; 

 first primary short, second, third, and fourth 

 longest ; tarsus scutellate in front and reticulate 

 at back. 



The Roller— Dimensions, Ks ; Eggs, Jc— has been noticed here about a hundred times 

 since it was first recorded by Religio Medici Browne, in 1644. Its flight is like a Tumbler 



