34 
COLYBIBID^E. 
Its food consists of fish, frogs and their spawn, and 
vegetable remains have also been found in its stomach. 
The Red-throated Diver meaures about twenty six inches; 
its beak one inch eleven lines ; the tarsus two inches and 
three quarters; the wing eleven inches and a quarter. 
The adult bird, in the spring of the year, has the beak 
bluish black; its upper mandible is straight, the lower 
mandible ascending “with a long angle; the sides of the 
head, chin, and sides of the neck are grey; the crown of 
the head dark grey; the nape and hinder part of the 
neck dark grey edged with white. The forepart of the 
neck has a large patch of reddish b'rowni; the lower part 
of the neck and sides of the breast are white, with the 
centres of the feathers dark grey. The upper plumage 
is clove-brown with a tinge of brown pink; the under 
plumage white; the flanks clove-brown. The legs are 
cinereous green ; the inside livid purplish white, the webs 
the same ; the eyes are red. 
The young bird has the crown, nape and back part 
of the neck grey, finely streaked wuth pearl white; the 
chin, throat, and under parts are white; the flanks are 
marked with arrow-shaped grey spots. Upper plumage 
dark grey approaching to brown ; the edges of the feathers 
pale grey near the tips; quills dusky. The beak is 
grey tinged with flesh-red. The legs are greyish green 
outside, much paler on the inner side. Eyes reddish 
brown. 
The egg figured 279 is that of the Red-throated Diver. 
