86 



GREAT NORTHERN DIVER 



They place it on their head in such a manner, that the bird's head 

 falls over their brow, and its wings cover their ears. 



" Northern Divers/' says Hearne, tho' common in Hud- 

 son's Bay, are by no means plentiful; they are seldom found near 

 the coast, but more frequently in fresh water lakes, and usually in 

 pairs. They build their nests at the edge of small islands, or the 

 margins of lakes or ponds ; they lay only two eggs, and it is very 

 common to find only one pair and their young in one sheet of 

 water : a great proof of their aversion to society. They are known 

 in Hudson's Bay by the name of Loons. 



The Great Northern Diver measures two feet ten inches from 

 the tip of the bill to the end of the tail, and four feet five inches in 

 breadth; the bill is strong, of a glossy black, and four inches and 

 three quarters long to the corner of the mouth ; nostril pervious ; 

 the edges of the bill do not fit exactly into each other, and are 

 ragged, the lower mandible separates into two branches, which 

 are united by a thin elastic membrane, and are easily moveable 

 horizontally or receding from each other, so as to form a wider 

 gap to facilitate the swallowing of large fish; irides dark blood 

 red ; the head and half of the length of the neck are of a deep 

 black with a green gloss, and purple reflections ; this is succeed- 

 ed by a band consisting of interrupted white and black lateral 

 stripes, which encompasses the neck, and tapers to a point on its 

 fore part, without joining — this band measures about an inch and a 

 half in its widest part, and to appearance is not continuous on the 

 back part of the neck, being concealed by some thick, overhang- 

 ing, black feathers, but on separating the latter the band becomes 

 visible : the feathers which form these narrow stripes are white, 

 streaked down their centre with black, and, what is a remark- 

 able peculiarity, their webs project above the common surface; 

 below this is a broad band of dark glossy green and violet, which 



* Hearne's Journey, p. 429, quarto. 



