236 



ON THE COLYMBUS IMMER; 



and strong, of a leaden colour on the fore, and 

 black on che back parts. 



As this description agrees in almost every par- 

 ticular with that given by ornithologists of the 

 Colymbus Immer, with tbe exceptions of a slight 

 difference in the size and weight, I am disposed 

 to consider it as a young bird that had not attained 

 the full growth. Indeed, there is a very obvious 

 difference in the size of these birds, which, as it is 

 more generally perceptible about the middle of 

 winter than at any other period of the year, 

 may fairly enough be referred to a difierence of 

 age. 



Although the imber may be looked upon as one 

 of those birds which is generally regular in its 

 migration from T/Ctland for the purpose of breed- 

 ing, yet I am disposed to believe that a few ac- 

 tually breed in this country. A clergyman, who 

 has bestowed a good deal of attention in studying 

 the habits and economy of birds, assures me, that 

 he has, on different occasions, in the middle of 

 summer, seen an imber- goose, accompanied by two 

 young ones ; and an intelligent fisherman told 

 me, that he once surprised a bird, which he af- 

 firmed to be an imber, on its nest, on a small 

 islet or hobn several miles from the shore. The 

 nest was carelessly constructed among tufts of 

 high grass very near to the sea, and contained 

 three large eggs of a dark olive colour, spotted 

 with black. 



