GREAT NORTHERN DIVER 



87 



is blended behind with the plumage of the back ; the lower part 

 of the neck, and the sides of the breast are ribbed in the same 

 manner as the band above ; below the chin a few stripes of the 

 same ; the whole of the upper parts are of a deep black, slightly 

 glossed with green, and thickly spotted with white, in regular 

 transverse or semicircular rows, two spots on the end of each fea- 

 ther—those on the upper part of the back, shoulders, rump and 

 tail coverts small and roundish, those on the centre of the back 

 square and larger, those on the scapulars are the largest, and of 

 an oblong square shape; the wing feathers and tail are plain brown 

 black, the latter composed of twenty feathers, and is very short 

 and rounded ; the lower parts are pure white, a slight dusky line 

 across the vent; the scapulars descend over the wing, and the 

 belly feathers ascend so as to meet them, by which means every 

 part of the wing is concealed, except towards the tip, this accom- 

 modation is to prevent its retarding the bird in diving; the outside 

 of the legs and feet is black, inside pale blue; the leg is four inches 

 in length, and the foot measures, along the exterior toe to the tip 

 of its claw, four inches and three quarters ; both legs and feet are 

 marked with five-sided polygons. 



The female Diver is somewhat less than the male ; the bill 

 is yellowish; crown, back part of the neck, and whole upper parts 

 pale brown; the plumage of part of the back and scapulars is tip- 

 ped with pale ash ; the throat, lower side of the neck, and whole 

 under parts are white, but not so pure as that of the male, having 

 a yellowish tinge ; the quill feathers dark brown. She has no ap- 

 pearance of bands on her neck, or of spots on her body. 



The young males do not obtain their perfect plumage until 

 the second or third year. One which we have seen, and which 

 was conjectured to be a yearling, had some resemblance to the fe- 

 male, with the exception of its upper parts being of a darker and 

 purer brown or mouse color, and its under parts of a more deli- 

 cate white; it had likewise a few spots on the back and scapulars; 



