110 
WILD NORWAY. 
pines. We had searched it carefully to-day, and found 
nothing but one gull’s nest; yet, a fortnight later, when 
we landed on this islet to tow ashore on its gravelly 
beach a fine “ double ” of lake-trout, a black-throated 
diver rose, with much flapping and scuffling, from her 
nest in the very centre. The nest then contained two 
eggs in the act of “ chipping,” and how it had escaped 
our eyes on the former occasion passes understanding. 
This diver performed a singular feat; after flyings 
thirty yards she suddenly collapsed (though I had 
not fired), and fell heavily on the water, to all appear¬ 
ance wing-broken. There for several seconds she lay 
flapping helplessly on her side, and swimming round, 
as though paralyzed, in narrow circles. I did not 
molest her, and half an hour afterwards saw the pair 
flying fast and strong, a hundred yards high. Three 
weeks later (at the end of July) these birds had their 
young out on the water, and, curiously, were accom¬ 
panied by the survivor of the other pair, whom they 
had apparently allowed to join them and assist in 
bringing up the family. 
We now returned to the “ Sanderling’s islet,” accom¬ 
panied all the way by a gull—probably the bereaved 
one—which persistently swept past our heads with 
loud outcries. I was truly sorry for the poor widower. 
Alas ! the sanderling’s nest was unoccupied, though the 
eggs were warm. Probably the bird had just slipped 
off, alarmed by our noisy gull. I now laid in wait, in 
a position commanding the nest, till past midnight 
without seeing a sign of its owner. A single island 
remained unexplored, and to this (in order to give the 
sanderling one more chance) we now pulled away. It 
