Northern Diver is very frequent in,'the Frith-of Forth;;;hnd
there I have never been able either to make up; with, or,causé,
one to fly from the sea> I have pursued this-bird in a Niw4
haven . fishing-boat, witl^i&uri sturdy rowèrsv m Âï potwitii-
S tan ding it "was k ep t,-almost constantly nnder water byÿ firing
as soon as'ît appeared, the boat* could? n o k s ^ â ^ ll in makibg
pne yard upon. it. .They are sometimós'ca^gh^io^hèJ hérrihg-
petsj, and: a t set: .lines, when -’diving«” Their avoine is
andr plaintive, varied-óccasiqnally -from a high note to
croak. *
Mr. W . Thompson-^ of Belfast^ ia y a # h |^ o r th e rn . Diver
is a constant visiter?* to Ireland in- winter, - and *©n -the—
nöast; ;at that season th e 'y e a r .that these**birds- are-^principally
séen ; but Dr. Fleming mention^- haèl-ïgïSeënluonè
of this speciès off the'.‘coast oft Waterford^ in the month .of
J u ly ^W fii :,Mr. E y tw has notic^chita^ppearan^intNorth
•Wales ; and Mr. Dillwyn -has - recorded ih e vopourrence of
this specjesjn the vicinity of Swansea;- they are notmnhêjkd'.
also, in winter on the coastsgof Cornwall, Dnipny andv©orset,
in theisouthj and off- the-FéoâstsWf Kent and Esses,bn the
east. y From Suffolk^ to „N o rth um b e sW d .^ n g -birds. ?are
common in winter, but ' old birds axe^rare^jand all. very dif*
ficult to obtain,,
Mr. Heysham has recorded.the -Capture ofr.ÿoung birds in
winter in. Cumberland,* on,itha .rivers near the îSolway^kntf
in January, 1§35, one was killed : on Talkin Tam, near
Brampton. In his remarks on the Zoology o f’the- Outer
Hebrides, Mr. J . Macgfflivray mentions that the Noxtherfl
DiVer was plentiful until : thé beginning of J une, when they
all disappeared. J h SûtherlàndsMre; Mr.t Selby, says,, .‘‘.that
a single pair was seen irt the Bay of Balnikiel, mouth of thé
Durness Frith, - both adult birds, and in perfect summer
plumage. I t is probable that they had their nest upon one
of the numerous islets that abound in. the bay.”
The' Rev. George Low, says, li the Great Northern Diver
is .'very frequent' around all the Orkneys, but especially in
Jhé bays a n d ’harlours, .which it enters in pursuit of small
fish, its oî% sustenancefN^fcé^ natural history of this and
(another Diver), is something paradoxical.
Though- they continué among these islands the
whbl^Seaéöto^ I can- find none ; io inform me how or where
t h |p byeedi” Mr. Robert' Dunn, who has visited these
islands serigrad ufie&sbnl’^in succession, "says, *e this beautiful
bird is plentifulybo'th; in Orkney and Shetland, in winter and
spring I t leaves'* abouti thebfeÉer ■ end of May, by which
time it has dêquired its perfect summer plumage. I t is
èÉtiremely shy,[?and very difficult to get within shot of; it
gen érkïiÿ,Cöigrégalés -in parties-of four or five ; it diveS with
thetiutmost facilié^ can remain a long time' under water, and
rises kgain’-ati a great- distance. In the act of diving it does
lifofes&ppear to makéPfiÈfè* lehSti exertion,^ but sinks gradually
under1 the surface without ’throwing itself forward, the head
^^isg1?he lust ’ part that disappears. I t frequents the narrow
ijsiilié and sounds where, there is a sandy bottom, and the
best way to procure it i#&tö 'secrete yourself amongst the
locks: near ^the? water’s edge ; by this means you will fre-
quieMlyget a shot at it, as it swims pretty close to the land
irf:shallow water when'feeding. » I t mustifoe shot dead, for
if only wounded your chance of getting it is very Small. On
my fast visit to Shetland* I saw a Northern Diver in Hammer
Vbe; in the parish of Northmaven, on the 28th of June-t
ifiwas in perfect plumage, and I was informed it had been
.there all the summer^ I presume it must have been wounded^
or it would-have left in the^ spring. I t was remarkably
-shy ; I tried several times to get a shot at it, but was unsuccessful.”
Mr. Hcwitson, when in Norway, saw the Great Northern
Diver, though rarely, in the fiords of the west coast. Richard