land, and, if hemmed up in a narrow tidal creek, will
generally rise and pass within easy shot of the boat of
the pursuer; needless to say that the flesh of the Divers
is worthless, and that they are only worth powder and
shot for the sake of their skins and the chancy nature of
the sport that they afford. I may add that I have often
been requested by fishermen to shoot these birds on
account of their destruction of sprats and other desirable
small fry.
The Red-throated Diver is a swift and powerful flyer,
and breeding throughout the northern regions of the
world, migrates in autumn as far south as Egypt. I
found it in some numbers upon the Lake of Geneva
during the winter, and have met with it abundantly on
the north coast of Spain, and sparsely in the Mediterranean
and Adriatic at that season of the year. The
only note that I have ever heard from this species is a
harsh guttural bark.
