DIVERS 
The cry of the great northern diver, or loon, is weird and melancholy, 
much like the voice of a human in distress. 
By day these glossy-black, white-striped birds keep a sharp lookout 
for human hunters. Occasionally they dive into the icy water after a fish. 
The loon can remain under water as long as eight minutes, exhaling the 
air from its lungs to make itself heavier than water. It reappears in a far 
distant spot and so outwits many a hunter. Fishermen have frequently 
pulled in these diving birds on their lines, as the birds readily take a 
baited hook while under water. 
On land these divers are ungainly, their legs being set so far back 
on their bodies that they waddle along in the manner of geese. 
Great northern divers breed during May and June and are seldom 
seen flying except during the period of migration. At this time male and 
female retire from the general flock to fly inland, usually settling on the 
shores of uninhabited rivers and lakes. Here they build a makeshift nest 
of grass and mud near the water’s edge, and the female lays two eggs 
which take about four weeks to hatch. The eggs are dark brown, speckled 
with black. As this color makes them almost invisible in the mud, the birds 
take no steps to conceal them. The female takes chief responsibility for 
hatching, lying flat on the eggs so that she can slip into the water at a 
moment’s notice. As soon as the young are born, they take to the water 
and swim like experts. 
In winter the great northern divers migrate as far south as Morocco 
or Palm Beach. 
The smallest and most common member of this family is the red- 
throated diver which nests in the Arctic region. 
34 
