274 THE BIRDS OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



ahead of the pursuing boat and come up at more 

 than double the distance astern of her. All the true 

 Divers use their wings in diving, and their speed 

 beneath the surface is astounding; but this species 

 cannot compare in that respect, or in the length 

 of its dives, with the Great Northern Diver. On 

 the eastern and southern coasts of England the Red- 

 throated Diver is generally known to the fishermen 

 as Loon, Sprat-Loon, or Speckled Diver ; but Yarrell 

 says, " In the North it is almost universally known 

 as ' Rain-Goose,' and its wailing cry is believed to 

 foretell the wet and stormy weather of which it is 

 certainly a frequent accompaniment. At such times 

 the bird generally flies high and in irregular circles." 

 Personally I have seldom seen this Diver take wing 

 voluntarily before April, but at that time of year 

 those that still linger on our southern coasts certainly 

 become very much more restless than is the case 

 in the winter, and are often to be seen flying high 

 and swiftly from creek to creek. They always, 

 however, seemed to me to avoid flying over the 

 land, even bare tidal muds upon which the con- 

 cealment of a human enemy would be well-nigh 

 impossible ; in fact, I have often obtained specimens 

 by remaining in my boat about the mouth of a mud- 

 creek as the tide ebbed, knowing that the bird would 

 in all probability give me a fair shot by following the 

 course of the creek on its return to open water, 

 rather than fly over the " dry." The only note that 

 I ever heard produced by a bird of this species — and 

 that not more than once or twice — was a sort of long- 

 drawn moan ; but in the breeding-season it is said to 

 be very noisy. In the spring of 1855 some forty 

 or fifty of this species lingered in Plymouth Sound 

 and up Hamoaze till late in May, about the middle 



