308 
LOON. 
K. 2. — Arct. Zool. 2. No. 439.— Do?i. Br. Birds, 3. t. 58. — Lath. Syn. 6. p. 
p. 337. 1. — P^llt. Cat. Dorset, p. 17. — Wale. Syn. l.t. 90. — LewhisHr. Birds, 
6. t. 226.— F/m. Br. Anim. p. 132. — Wils. Amer. Orn. 9. p. 74. 
FEMALE. 
Colymbus Immer. Linn. Syst. 1. p. 222. 6..^ — Gmel. Syst. 2. p. 588— Lat/?. 
Ind. Orn. 2. p. 800. 2. — Colymbus maximus Gesneri, Raii, Syn. p. 126. 8. — 
Will. p. 260. 3.— Mergus major, Briss. 6. p. 105. 1. t. 10. f. l.—lh. 8vo. 2. p. 
389. — Le grande plongeon, Buff. Ois. 8. p. 251. — Ember Goose, Sibbald, Scot. 
21. — Imber Diver, Br. Zool. 2. No. 238. t. 84. — Arct. Zool. 2. No. 440 Will. 
(Angl.) p. 3A2.— Lath. Syn. 6. p. 340. 2.—Pult. Cat. Dorset, p. 17 Wale. 
Syn. 1. t. 99. — Don. Br. Birds, 4. t. 99. — Lewin’s Br. Birds, 6. t. 227. — Mont. 
Orn. Diet. 1. 
Promncial , — Gunner. Greater Doucker. 
This species is the larg-est of the genus, sometimes weighing as much 
as fifteen or sixteen pounds ; length near three feet and a half. The 
bill is black, four inches and a half long ; irides purplish ; the head and 
neck deep velvety black ; on the throat are several parallel white lines, 
formed of raised feathers ; on each side the neck a large portion of the 
same, almost uniting behind and before ; the sides of the breast streaked 
with black and white lines ; the back, scapulars, and wing coverts, are 
black, marked with white spots in a most elegant manner ; those on 
the back and rump are small and round, the others are larger and of a 
square form, disposed in rows ; the quills and tail are black ; the breast 
and under parts of the body white, with a few black streaks under the 
wings ; legs black. The female is not so large, and the white mark- 
ings on the neck are less distinct. The variation which has been ob- 
served in the plumage of these birds, has very justly been considered 
to be owing to its not arriving at perfection till the second, or perhaps 
the third year. The northern diver is rarely met with in the southern 
parts of England ; seldom leaving the water ; but instances are re- 
corded of its having been taken alive on land. In the spring of the year 
1797, one of these birds was taken near Penzance, in Cornwall, at 
some distance from water. It appeared incapable of raising itself from 
the ground ; it did not seem to have any defect, as it lived for six 
weeks in a pond, and was supplied with fish ; but for want of a suffi- 
cient quantity, was starved, as was apparent when we dissected it for 
preservation. It is not uncommon in Iceland and Greenland, where it 
breeds in the fresh waters, and is said to lay two large eggs, of a pale 
brown-colour, in the month of June. Is plentiful in Norway and some 
parts of Russia. In the latter country, as well as in some others, the 
skin is dressed and used for various sorts of clothing. It is tough, and 
well covered with soft down. 
The female has been described as a distinct species, under the name 
of imber diver. In length she measures two feet ; bill four inches long, 
of a dusky brown-colour ; the top of the head and back part of the neck 
brown ; forehead, sides of the neck and cheeks, speckled with brown ; 
