THE CRESTED GREBEo 
245 
the same time, one of the most beautiful, is the 
Crested Grebe ( Colymbus cristatus ), of whose head 
we have given a figure (see vol. i., p. 86). The 
bird has the power of moving the sort of shawl, or 
tippet, round its neck, as well as the two tufts or 
crests on its head, which, when erected, appear like 
two horns. This species, as well as some others, 
such as the Sea-Lark, already mentioned*, when 
alarmed, carries off its young under the wing. We 
once saw an old one, basking in the middle of a large 
sheet of water, with one or two young ones, appa- 
rently not long hatched, swimming round her. By 
the assistance of a telescope, the little downy divers 
might be seen, enjoying their new existence ; at one 
moment darting along the surface, and then scram- 
bling on the mother s back, who floated motionless, 
and continued to plume herself while the brood 
gambolled about her. One of the largest of this 
genus, the Great Northern Diver ( Colymbus gla - 
cialis ), may also be called a British bird, though but 
a rare visitant, preferring the more remote shores of 
the north, where it passes its existence as far as 
possible beyond the reach of men: not, however, 
that it can escape the snare of the hunter, — numbers 
being taken by the persevering efforts of those who 
know the value of their skins, which, when tanned 
and dressed, make excellent caps and jackets. But 
although the poor birds cannot avoid falling a 
prey to their pursuers, they contrive so effectually 
to seclude themselves from observation, during the 
breeding season, that, in the Orkneys, and other 
northern islands which they frequent, the inhabitants 
* Vol. ii., p. 152, 
