348 BLACK-THROATED DIVER.
Plumage «hurt and dense, of the head and neck very short, «oft
and blended ; of the lower parts short, blended; stiffish, considerably
glossed ; of the upper compact, glossy.* the feathers on the lower part
of .the sides of the neck much incurved, oblong with the:: terminal barbs
stiff ; those of the foro part of the back and the Scapulars straight, oblong,
abrupt. Win^s proportionally very small and narrow, curved ;
primaries strong, tapering, the firsti§pig:£St, the second -slightly shorter,
the rest rapidly graduated ; 'secondaries very shott, 'broad, and rounded,
Tail extremely short, rounded, of eighteen feathers.
Bill black. Iris deep bright red. Veut greyish-blue, their inner
sides tinged with yellow ; claws black, that of the inner ton yellowish at
the base. The. upper part of the head and the hind neck are light grey
or hoary, the fore park and sides of the bead darker. Th¿¡upper parts
are glossy black tinged with green anteriorly, and shaded with brown
behind. On the fore part of the back are two longitudinal bands of
transversa white bars, the feathers being tipped with that colour ; the
"scapulars, excepting the outer, are marked in the: same manner with
transverse rows of rather large square Spots. Most of the wirig-coverts
have two roundish spots of white near the end. j^'Tho quills are black •
isli-brown, tinged with grey externally, pa!or on the inner webs ; the
tail also blackish-brown. The fore n e c k , t h e length of six and a
half inches!, is purplish-black, ending angularly below, and with a trans-
Verse interrupted band, of linear white spots near the upper part ; beyond
which thé sidès-of thé neck are blackish- brown, With several longitudinal
wliite' streaks, formed by this edges of the feathers ; on the '
lower part of the neck a broad space is occupied by these longitudinal,
dusky, and white streak* the former of which gradually become narrower.
The lower parts are pure white, 'excepting a longitudinal band
on the sides under the wing, which is duskv.
!" ¡Length to end of tail 29 inches, t<S end of wings 27|, to end of claws
33 ; extent of wings ;wing from f.exuro 12f : tail2f ; bill along the
ridge 2ft, along the edge of-lonor mandible 3ft ; tarsus 3iV; hind toe
^ its claw -ft ; second toe 3ft. its claw f'j ; third toe 3ft, its claw
5ft ; fourth toe 4J, its claw ft.
Adult Female. Plate CCCXLVI. Fig. 2.
Thé Female is smaller than the male, but is similarly coloured.
BLACK-THROATED DIVER. 349
Young in Winter. Plate CCCXLVI. Fig. 3.
The texture of the plumage is loss dense, the feathers on the neck
being more downy; and those of the back oblong and rounded. The
bill is light' bluish grey, dusky along the ridge; thè iris brown; the
foot more dusky. The'upper part of tlio bead and the hind ñeck are
dark greyish-brown ;, the sides, of the head greyish-white, minutely
streaked with, brown. The: upper parts have a reticulated- or scaly
appearance, the feathers being brownish-black, with broad bluish-grey
margins ; the rump dull brownish-grey. The primaries and their coverts
are brownish-black, the secondaries and tail-feathers dusky, margined
with g&y„ The fore part of the nock is, greyish-white, minutely
and faintly dotted with brown, its sides below streaked with the
saine ; tlio lower parts, including thè under surface of the wing, pure
white ; the sides élf the body and rump, with part Of the lower tail-coverts,
dusky, edged with bluish-grey.
When in their first downy plumage,, the young are. of a uniform
brownish-black colour.