190 
Allen’s naturalist’s library. 
adapted for an aquatic life, they are apparently incapable of 
standing upright on land. When leaving the water to gain 
the nest, the bird lies on its belly, and slowly pushes itself up 
the gently-sloping peat or turf bank by using its legs alternately. 
Generally there are two distinct short ‘ runs ’ leading from the 
nest to the water, doubtless made by the bodies of the birds 
being dragged over the soft, wet ground as they change places 
during the period of incubation. The nest is merely a slight 
hollow in the wet bank pressed down by the body of the bird, 
sometimes imperfectly lined with a few bits of dead grass. On 
one occasion, being anxious, if possible, to secure the parent 
birds without shooting them, two carefully concealed gins were 
placed under the water just at the end of the ‘ runs,’ so that it 
seemed an absolute certainty that the sitting bird must be 
caught by the legs either in going to or leaving the nest. This 
plan, however, utterly failed. Being hidden a couple of 
hundred yards off, we watched the female bird (for it was her 
turn on the nest) through the glass. Three times she settled 
herself comfortably on the eggs, and as many times we 
frightened her off But on each occasion she passed over the 
traps without touching them, though the depth of water could 
not have been more than two inches. On leaving the nest 
the parent bird glides gracefully and quietly into the water, 
and, if danger has been sighted, almost instantly dives, with 
scarcely a ripple, re-appearing at a considerable distance from 
the nest. If the cause of uneasiness is near at hand, the body 
is sunk in the water till little more than the head and neck 
are visible, and it may easily be imagined that in rough water 
the birds are most difficult to see, even with the help of 
the glass. 
“When unconscious of danger, the Divers float and dive and 
preen themselves much like Ducks, often raising themselves to 
semi-erect positions in the water, and flapping their wings. 
Some of the attitudes assumed by them when dressing their 
feathers are very curious. When preening the feathers of the 
sides and flanks, the birds turn half over, shewing the whole of 
the white sides of the breast and belly, and when sorting the 
feathers of the breast, they turn right over on their backs and 
float. 
“ This species differs from the Black-throated Diver in one 
