throated Diver occasionally ift the fiords on the wësPcbast
of Norway. Richard Dann, Esq.-'sent me th#%>llowing
note :—*■ This beautiful Diver is widely- and^nl^%TOiisly-’dispersed
aver -the whole of -Scandinavia ^during' the Wmmer
months, but- is‘ mont abundant iü the horthern " parts. . It
breeds generally in thé interior” of the -:cbuntryf öh- small'
islands-, in the most sééluded and-'retired lakes. ■ In Lapland
and in the Dofre Fiell mountains, it is^ found as. high' as ‘thé
birch-treè growë. - It nâakès^‘its first appearaim&m the-spring
With the breaking up ôf thedce-on the,l®kes;s * 'Withifi^^ejf^:
hours of open watef being-se^n, this^Bfrd-fieVer fails to IhoW
itself* The eggs-aïe ^ènerally^two in number.- They arè
of a very rank fishy taste,1'-bl^itmeh sd h ^P after "by the
Laps. -Affceif- %h^-young^,ra_hàtdhêd:-both male and ’fethilSe
are very assiduous in bringing th^m-dbod, and- at- that'"period
are much on the" wing, and- may^be^’seeh dlying at a vast
height, with fish inj their beaksj ffonr one lake to andtheif;
on arriving -over the lake whe're jth^y?rtftfhd^téT^light\:vfheÿ
descend-verÿ^suddenly in an oblique-direction. The Vepiës
of this Diver sire- very peculiar during the breeding-season’,
and may be heard at a great- distânceÇ -Tlii&^bird is-'ydiy
quick-sighted and difficult >to approach^ :it * takes' wing 'wM
great reluctance, but diveslincessantly, taking ' care fb'-^jnd
Up far out of shot. ; On the approach .'of wîntérrlîié_old birds
retire to the west coast of Norway. '1 They make thtrir appearance
in the southern parts but rarely. Thé yó'ting* birds,
however, migrate in considerable numbers to more temperate
elimès, and aie-found at that-periOd in' the- open -parts of the
Baltic, in the Elbe, and onthe*cdast of HollandC-W
Î Linneus, in his Lapland tour;'mentions having^eëû this
bird at Lÿcksele, Lulea, and Torhea ; eaps are made of-the
skin of it, which is. -Very tough when rptopferfy prepared.
Linneus observes, also, that this bird uttered a melancholy
note ; and Sir Arthur de Capel ~ Brookeÿ says its-voicé re-
Sembjes,. that of a 'human being in distress. A few of this
species are ’Said <Jo?>be found in Russia, and on the inland
Jakes {bf Siberia ; iti-ia not” uncommon; in winter in Holland,
and some, part's-;-of G e rm a n y is very rare in France, but
young birds in winter have been sometimes by chance, taken
as far south as.:Switzerland, , Provence, and Italy, M. Tem-
minqk^says-tïiM ^specimens, from Japan exactly agree with
thosejfoumd. in Europe.
The -]^la,©k-throated Diver'is found in the.; United States*
The bird. figured from by Edwards was brought from Hud-
son’s Btfyyl ^ ^bfigihores of which it is common.- Sir Edward
F ^ y ^ d ’^gbl^lp^^'sp^cimeèas» from Melville Peninsular
and; Dr-.-/Richardson' says that the skins oU this and thé
other^pppies^óftDivers, being tough and impervious to wet^
are use<L jMdjhe Indians and Esquimaux as an article of
-djfesévi
In the adult bird" the beak'i||sdark bluish-black; in form
sligh^fed-l^mmg upwards'; the irid e s'ig d $ forehead dark
H^ey, top. of the-.head, and 'back of the neck- light -ash-grey;;
back? rump, and 4ailTfeathem nearly black; inter-scapular and
teïthil-feathers, with a square patch, of white on each side of
the- shaft# forming a series ’ of transverse bars ; wing-coverts
black, with a i&wt: specks, o f , wh-i|è ; primary quill-feathers
Idack; chin and throat black, divided by a half collar of
short white lines ;, sides, aiid bottom of the neck streaked
longitudinally .with black and white lines; breast, belly and all
the under surface of the body, pure white ; flanks and under
.tail-coyg||k .dusky ; legs and toes dark brown outside, lighter
pale brown within. The. .whole length about twenty-six
inches^ wing from the carpal joint to the end of the pri-
jtnaries, eleven inches' and a half. Females are but little
smaller than males, and both sexes, when mature, have the
throat black, as repeated internal examinations have proved.
The Divers undergo a partial moult in the spring, and on the