24 
COLYMBID.E. 
is often seen, and goes as far south to pass the winter as 
the United States. 
We took our drawing from a beautiful specimen that 
was killed near the falls of Niagara, and its plumage was 
in a high state of perfection. 
The sea appears to be the locality preferred by the 
present species, although it retires to inland lakes and 
rivers for the purposes of breeding; and during its migra¬ 
tion, it is not unfrequently met with on large rivers of 
the European continent, having been captured on the Rhine 
and the Elbe, When we speak of the sea as the locality 
where the Northern Diver is most likely to be met with, 
we must add that this bird is not usually found on water, 
the depth of which exceeds fifteen fathoms, and thus its 
locality must necessarily be near the shore. 
The general appearance of the Northern Diver is conspicu¬ 
ous, and peculiarly handsome when in the act of swimming. 
On land the attitudes of the bird are awkward in conse¬ 
quence of the backward position of the legs, by which it is 
rendered incapable of walking or even standing up in a 
comfortable position. The time that the present species can 
remain under the water when in pursuit of its food is truly 
surprising, and is reported to be as long as three minutes and 
a half, and when pm-sued, the bird manages with ease to 
swim below the surface of the water for a couple of hundred 
yards. 
The flight of the Northern Diver is neither very graceful 
nor very rapid; it requires a run or start to enable the bird 
to rise from the water, which it does in a slanting direction 
accompanied by the frequent repetition of its call-note. 
When a party of six or eight of these birds rise together, 
they mount high in the air, and follow one another in a 
line. 
