DIVERS. 
539 
dimensions, and has the beak deeper. Resembling the guillemot in general colora¬ 
tion, it differs in undergoing no seasonal change of plumage, and in the white area 
occupying the whole of the sides of the head, while the throat is encircled by a 
dark gorget. The beak has its 
terminal portion carmine-red,behind 
which are bands of slaty grey and 
yellow, with a red one on the lower 
mandible. With the annual moult 
both the sheath of the basal half of 
the beak and the warty red skin at 
the angle of the mouth are shed. 
In Europe the breeding-range of 
this species extends from the North 
Cape to the mouth of the Tagus, 
while in winter the birds wander as 
far south as Gibraltar, and thence 
pass up the Mediterranean to the 
Italian coasts. On the opposite side 
of the Atlantic the winter range 
reaches as far south as New York. 
Essentially oceanic in their 
habits, puffins are gregarious at all 
seasons, and fly rapidly somewhat 
after the manner of ducks. Swim¬ 
ming easily, and diving with the 
expertness characteristic of the 
family, they feed chiefly on the fry 
of fish; while their single egg is laid 
either in a burrow in the ground or 
among the deep clefts of rocks. In colour, the egg is dull white, faintly spotted 
with grey and brown; and in the presence of these markings it forms one of many 
exceptions to the general rule that eggs laid in holes are white. From this circum¬ 
stance, Mr. Seebohm suggests that these birds have only taken to laying in 
burrows comparatively recently; the faintness of the markings of the eggs being 
perhaps indicative that they are in the course of disappearance. 
The Divers. 
Family COL YMBIDjE. 
In common with the grebes, the divers ( Colymbus ) differ from the auks (and 
thereby from all other birds) in that the crest of the tibia is prolonged upwards 
to unite with the knee-cap, or patella, thus forming a spike-like projection at the 
extremity of the bone, which must afford a most efficient lever for the muscles in 
the act of swimming. The two families are further characterised by the saddle- 
like form of the articular surfaces of the vertebrae of the back, by the presence of 
i 
COMMON PUFFIN. 
