of them accidentally stray to a distance, the other never ceases to
call the wanderer back with anxious care; they generally swim about in
close companionship, and often make their voice heard as they playfully
caress each other. At the commencement of the breeding season each male
zealously resists the intrusion of another pair within the area he has
selected, so that where several pairs have taken possession of a piece
of water, desperate battles are frequently fought, at the end of which
the vanquished combatant has generally to have recourse to his wings in
order to escape from the fury of the victor. It is only when the reeds
and sedges have attained a certain height that a pair sets seriously
to work upon the construction of their nest, which is always placed in
the vicinity of a group of tall reeds or rushes, and frequently at a
considerable distance from the shore. The nest, when constructed, is about
a foot in diameter and six inches high, its cavity is extremely shallow,
and it becomes gradually pressed flatter and flatter by the weight of
the laying birds; even when completed, the fabric has very little the
appearance of a nest, but rather resembles a heap of rotten weeds casually
blown together by the winds, and left to float on the top of the water.
It is wonderful that such a wet lump should bear the weight of the bird
that sits upon it, and still more astonishing that it is not upset, as its
occupant steps on and off a structure that possesses so little buoyancy.
The normal number of eggs usually laid in this strange nest may be stated
at four, sometimes there are five, sometimes only three. Out of seven
nests examined by Holtz, four of them contained four eggs, one five, one
three, and one two. The colour of the eggs is at first pure white, which
soon, however, changes into a dirty yellow. The male and female sit upon
the eggs alternately, with an unwearying assiduity, that in their case is
indispensable, seeing that the eggs are actually half immersed in water;
and on examining a nest from which the sitting bird has been recently
driven, it will be found that not only the eggs, but the entire nest is
warm throughout. Both manifest extreme attachment to their young brood;
should a stranger approach, they hastily cover it up with weeds, and only
retire to a little distance, returning to their charge so soon as danger
has passed. It is asserted that if before incubation has commenced the
eggs are abstracted one at a time, the female will lay twenty eggs or
more in succession. As soon as the young are hatched, they are introduced
by their parents to their proper element, and carefully defended, more
especially by the male bird, who seems to take upon himself the duty of
a sentinel. The nestlings are fed with insects and such small diet, at
first put into their beaks, but afterwards only placed before them on
the surface of the water. They soon, however, learn to dive in search of
small fishes, and do not long require the supervision of their elders. The
young, more especially at an early period, are elegant little creatures.
"It is a treat," says Jäckel, "to watch the little family as now one,
now another of the young brood, tired with the exertion of swimming or
of struggling against the rippling water, mount as to a resting-place on
their mother's back; to see how gently, when they have recovered their
strength, she returns them to the water; to hear the anxious plaintive
notes of the little wanderers when they have ventured too far from the
nest; to see their food laid before them by the old birds; or to witness
the tenderness with which they are taught to dive. It is only when they
are eight days old that they are strong enough to enter upon this last
important part of their education, which is commenced in the following
manner:--The mother bird at first swims towards her little flock two or
three times, holding in her beak the proffered food; but as they advance
to receive it she gradually retires before them, and at last dives with
it again and again, thus tempting the timid little creatures to follow
her, and always at the end of the performance allowing the best swimmer
to obtain the tempting prize as a reward for its exertions." The flesh of
these birds is quite uneatable, but great quantities of them are destroyed
annually on account of their skins.
[Illustration: THE CRESTED GREBE (_Podiceps cristatus_). ONE-FOURTH
NATURAL SIZE.]
THE LITTLE GREBE.
The LITTLE GREBE (_Podiceps minor_) is much more plentiful than the
species last described. It is a beautiful bird, measuring nine or ten
inches in length and seventeen or eighteen in breadth, the length of
its wing being four inches. When in its nuptial dress, the plumage of
the upper part of the body is brilliant black shimmering with brown, the
under parts being greyish white, clouded with a darker shade; the throat
and a place in the front of the eye are black; the head, sides of the
neck, and throat, chestnut-brown; the eye is reddish brown; the bridles
yellowish green; the beak yellow at its base and black towards its apex;
the external aspect of the foot is blackish, internally it is of a clear
horn-colour. In its autumnal plumage the upper parts of the body are more
of a brownish grey, the under surface satiny white; the head and neck
bright grey.
The range of this bird is pretty nearly the same as that of the species
last described; it is not, however, so numerously met with during the
winter season. It makes its appearance in Germany about the end of March,
and remains in that country so long as the waters are free from ice; but
during the winter it takes up its abode in the south of Europe. In Great
Britain it is met with as far north as the Hebrides, and in the southern
counties of England may be seen throughout the year.
It usually selects for its residence some large pond well provided with
reeds and rushes, and it is also occasionally to be found in morasses and
other swampy localities. It seems to avoid clear water; its food, which
consists principally of insects and their larvæ, being more abundantly
met with in ditches and muddy places. In its habits and mode of life it
closely resembles other members of its family; it seems, however, to be
more active than the larger species, and uses its feet with more facility
in running.
In swimming and diving it may be said to excel even its congeners, but
its powers of flying are very limited, owing to the shortness of its
wings. Its flight, indeed, is said by Naumann to resemble that of a
grasshopper. In summer time it is very shy, and can only be approached
with difficulty, but in the winter its shyness diminishes, so that it will
even come near villages, and at this season it frequently falls a victim
to its own carelessness. When alarmed it immediately dives, and if further
threatened with danger, secretes itself in the water under the shelter of
the herbage, leaving nothing but its beak visible above the surface, and
thus it will remain until all cause for apprehension is removed. Its voice
is a short piping note that sounds like "bib" or "bibi," and this during
the pairing season is repeated so rapidly that it sounds something like a
"shake" upon some musical instrument.
The nest of the Little Grebe is always placed among water-plants,
but is never hidden from view; more commonly, indeed, it is rather a
conspicuous object; it is, however, invariably removed from the sides of
the pond. In its appearance, it is just as rudely constructed, as wet
and uncomfortable-looking as that of the species last described. In this
floating cradle the female, towards the end of April or the beginning of
May, lays from three to six elongated eggs, the colour of which seems
to depend upon that of the plants of which the nest is composed. Upon
these eggs, both the male and the female sit alternately for twenty or
twenty-one days. As soon as the young are hatched they betake themselves
to the water, where they are taught and tended by their parents in the
same manner as those of the Crested Grebes described above.
* * * * *
The DIVERS (_Colymbi_) may be regarded as the marine representatives
of the Grebes, from which, however, they are at once distinguishable
by their larger bodies, shorter neck, more bulky head, and stronger
beak. These birds are fully webbed; their wings are short, and their
quills, the second of which is the longest, hard and stiff; the tail is
composed of from sixteen to twenty close-set feathers. The coloration of
the thick warm plumage varies considerably at different seasons of the
year. The number of species belonging to this group is very limited; of
these only three are recognised as belonging to Great Britain; namely,
_C. glacialis_, _C. arcticus_, and _C. septentrionalis_. The members of
this group are essentially sea-birds, only visiting rivers or lakes of
fresh water during the breeding season or in the course of their winter
migrations. Like the Grebes, they transact all their business in the
water. They swim with the utmost ease to very considerable distances, and
rest themselves by lying as it were flat upon the surface of the sea;
sometimes, however, they sink their bodies to such a depth that only a
small portion of the back is visible. Now they are seen gliding leisurely
along over the tranquil waves, and now with the rapidity of lightning they
disappear apparently without the slightest effort, and without causing any
perceptible disturbance in the water. No sooner are they submerged, than
they stretch themselves out to their full length, their feathers become
flat and smooth, their wings are pressed close to their sides, and thus
presenting a shape beautifully adapted to their work, they shoot through
the water with arrow-like speed, now in one direction, now in another;
sometimes swimming along close beneath the surface, sometimes plunging to
a depth of several fathoms in pursuit of the fishes upon which they feed.
"To see them from some promontory," says Mudie, "against which the air and
the sea are setting full wind and tide, and driving before them myriads
of herrings and other fishes, is a glorious sight. They dash along the
surface, they dart under it, they bounce up again, they bore through the
advancing waves, and when the billow breaks in foam and thunders over
them, and the spectator naturally concludes they are buried for ever in
the deep, up they spring to the surface of the unbroken water farther from
the land, as though exulting in the fury of the elements." This facility
for swimming and diving they enjoy from their earliest infancy, and to
it they trust as a means of escape from danger. It is seldom that they
set foot upon dry land; indeed, even when they visit the shore they can
scarcely be said to do so, they might rather be said to slide out of the
water on to the beach; as to walking, in the ordinary acceptation or the
term, that is quite out of their power--indeed, they are unable to support
themselves in an upright position; by the efforts of their feet and wings,
aided by their neck and beak, they creep, or rather tumble over the
ground until they regain their proper element. Their powers of flight are
very limited, nevertheless it is a pretty sight to see them plunge from
some high cliff into the waters beneath, the efforts of their wings only
serving to give an oblique direction to their downward career, as they
shoot headlong into the deep, and immediately disappear beneath the waves.
The Divers appear to avoid the company of other birds, and indeed seldom
associate with those of their own kind, except during the breeding
season--at which time they may be seen in pairs. Their food consists
exclusively of fishes overtaken in the water or brought up from the bottom
of the sea; of these they seem to prefer the mid-sea swimmers, but flat
fishes, such as small plaice and soles, form likewise a considerable part
of their diet. Graba informs us, that from his window he has often seen
them bring up flounders of considerable size, in disposing of which they
showed considerable dexterity. If too large to be swallowed whole, they
were dropped into the water and devoured piecemeal. Even a herring seemed
to be a somewhat unmanageable morsel; but the smaller fry were at once
made away with. When the breeding season approaches, all the different
species of Divers betake themselves to lakes of fresh water, at some
little distance from the coast, and sometimes at a considerable altitude
above the level of the sea. Their harsh-sounding cry is now uttered more
frequently than usual, especially towards evening, at which time they come
down to the shore and throw themselves from the rocks into the ocean, in
order to procure a supply of food. Their nest is generally built upon some
small island in the middle of the lake or pond, or should such a situation
not offer itself, upon the margin, but always close to the water; it is
rudely constructed of sedge-grass and reeds, negligently heaped together
and frequently without the slightest attempt at concealment, insomuch as
the sitting bird is rather a conspicuous object, and may be seen from a
considerable distance. Upon this rude nest the female lays two eggs of an
elongated shape, having a strong, coarse-grained, but somewhat polished
shell. The two sexes take their turn in the incubation of the eggs, and
both labour with equal zeal in the feeding and rearing of the young. The
eggs are laid towards the end of May, and towards the end of June young
birds may be found in the nests; but the exact period of incubation is not
as yet accurately determined. Should the lake on which the nest is placed
be well stocked with fish, both the parents remain constantly with their
progeny; but if there is a scarcity of such a supply, and the old birds
have to resort to the sea for food, they do so by turns, each of them most
probably bringing to the nest a share of what they capture wherewith to
feed their nestlings. These last, however, as soon as they are hatched
begin to show considerable aptitude for the chase, and are able to procure
food for themselves betimes. When they are fully fledged they betake
themselves to the sea.
THE GREAT NORTHERN DIVER.
The GREAT NORTHERN DIVER (_Colymbus glacialis_) is a very striking bird,
measuring about three feet in length and five feet across the wings. The
length of each wing is sixteen inches and tail two inches and a quarter.
In its summer plumage it is principally black, enlivened with white spots;
on the head and neck the feathers are greenish black, the latter being
traversed by a broad longitudinal band of black and white; a similar
stripe is situated on the fore part of the neck. The sides of the upper
breast are black striped with white; the rest of the under surface is a
rich satiny white. The eye is light brown, and beak black; the exterior of
the tarsus is grey, the under surface of a reddish flesh-colour. In its
winter dress the upper part and sides are blackish, and without the white
spots, and the under surface white; the breast black, streaked with white.
The young are clad in a similar garb, but are without the white streaks
upon the breast.
The Northern Diver is common on all the coasts of the North Sea, as
well as on the inland lakes of high latitudes. It appears on the coast
of Great Britain in the autumn, and remains during the winter, going at
the breeding season; except at that time, it lives at sea, following
the shoals of herrings and sprats; it also resorts to arms of the sea
and sandy bays, floating lightly, with its body deep in the water; when
alarmed, it swims with astonishing swiftness, and endeavours to escape by
diving.
These birds breed on the Faroe Islands. Respecting their manner of
nidification Mr. Porter, who observed them closely during the nesting
season in Iceland, says:--"The Northern Diver breeds on the lochs of
fresh water. In the nests I examined, a single egg was deposited. On the
bare ground, but just out of water-mark, rather under a rugged bank on
some broken ground, I was successful in finding two nests. I allowed the
single egg to remain in one of them in the expectation that another egg
would be laid to it, but was disappointed. The old bird was very shy, and
always left the egg on our approach, when at a great distance off, taking
to the water and keeping so far from the side as not to be within shot."
In the breeding season they frequent islands, making their nests of dead
herbage near the water's edge. The eggs, usually two in number, are dark
olive-brown, with a few umber-brown spots, and are three inches six lines
long by two inches three lines broad. The mother lies flat on the eggs,
and, if disturbed, pushes herself along the ground with her feet, diving
as soon as she reaches the water. The young are able in a day or two after
birth to follow their mother to the water, and are able to swim and dive
well. They are fed during the first fortnight with food from the crop of
their parent. The voice of this bird is loud, plaintive, and much varied
in tone.
Montagu tells us that, "A Northern Diver taken alive was kept in a pond
for some months. In a few days it became extremely docile, would come
at a call from one side of the pond to the other, and would take food
from the hand. The bird had received an injury in the head which had
deprived one eye of its sight, and the other was a little impaired; but,
notwithstanding, it could, by incessantly diving, discover all the fish
that was thrown into the pond. In default of fish it would eat flesh. It
is observable that the legs of this bird are so constructed and situated
as to render it incapable of walking upon them. When the bird quitted the
water, it shoved its body along upon the ground like a seal, by jerks,
rubbing the breast against the earth; and returned to the land in a
similar manner. In swimming and diving, the legs only are used and not the
wings, as in the Guillemot and Auk tribes; and by their situation so far
behind and their little deviation from the line of the body, it is enabled
to propel itself in the water with great velocity in a straight line, as
well as turn with astonishing quickness." The plumage of the Northern
Diver is close, and its skin tough, on which account it is much used by
the inhabitants of northern countries in the manufacture of comfortable
articles of clothing. The flesh is hard and of a rank fishy flavour.
THE BLACK-THROATED DIVER.
The BLACK-THROATED DIVER (_Colymbus arcticus_) is smaller than the
preceding species, but very much like it both in the colour and markings
of its plumage. In its nuptial costume the upper part of the head and
hind neck are deep ashy grey, the back and wings black, a space upon the
back and another upon the hinder part of the wing are spotted with white,
while upon the fore part of the wing is another space speckled with blue
spots. The side of the neck presents a longitudinal black streak, the
fore neck has a transverse white band, and the sides are longitudinally
marked with black. The under side is white. During the winter, the head
and nape are grey, the rest of the feathers on the upper surface black
with white borders; the lower parts of the body are white, and the sides
of the crop striped black and white. In young birds the latter markings
are wanting. The eye is light brown, and the beak black. The foot is grey
at its exterior, and flesh-red on the inner side. This species is from
twenty-eight to thirty inches long and from fifty to fifty-two broad;
the wing measures from fourteen to fifteen inches, and the tail from two
inches and a quarter to two inches and a half. The Black-throated Diver
is rare on our southern coasts; on the northern shores of our island it
begins to appear about September. The majority of these depart about
April, although a few remain to nest in the northern parts and islands
of Scotland. We are indebted to Mr. Selby for the following account of
its breeding, as observed by himself during the course of an excursion in
Scotland.
[Illustration: _Plate 39, Cassell's Book of Birds_
COLYMBUS GLACIALIS ____ NORTHERN DIVER.
(_about ¼ Nat. size_).]
"This beautiful species, whose breeding station has never before been
detected, we found upon most of the interior Sutherland lochs. The first
we noticed was at the foot of Loch Shin, where we were so fortunate as
to find the nest, or rather the two eggs upon the bare ground of a small
islet, removed about ten or twelve feet from the water's edge. The female
was seen in the act of incubation, sitting horizontally, and not in an
upright position, on the eggs. In plumage she resembled the male, and
when fired at immediately swam or rather dived off to a short distance.
Our pursuit after them was, however, ineffectual, though persevered in
for a long time, as it was impossible to calculate where they were likely
to rise after diving. Submersion frequently continued for nearly two
minutes at a time, and they generally reappeared at about a quarter of a
mile's distance from the spot where they had gone down. In no instance
have I ever seen them attempt to escape by taking wing. I may observe
that a visible track from the water to the eggs was left by the female,
whose progress upon land is effected by shuffling along upon her belly,
propelled by her legs behind. On the day following (May 31st) Mr. J.
Wilson was fortunate enough to find two newly-hatched young ones in a
small creek of Loch Craigie, about two miles and a half from Lairg. After
handling and examining them, during which the old birds approached very
near to him, he left them in the same spot. Accordingly, on the Monday
morning we had the boat conveyed to the loch, and on our arrival soon
descried the two old birds, attended by their young and apparently moving
to a different part of the loch. Contrary to their usual habit at other
times, they did not attempt to dive on our approach, but kept swimming
around their young, which, from their very tender age, were unable to make
much way in the water. The female could only be distinguished from the
male by a slight inferiority of size, and both were in full adult plumage.
We afterwards saw several pairs upon various lochs, and upon Loch Kay,
a pair attended by two young ones nearly half grown. When swimming they
are in the constant habit of dipping their bill into the water, with a
graceful motion of the head and beak."
Mr. Dunn, who observed these birds in Norway, tells us that, "The eggs
have a very rank fishy taste, but are much sought after by the Lapps.
After the young are hatched, both male and female are very assiduous in
bringing them food, and may be seen flying at a vast height, with fish
in their beaks, from one lake to another; on arriving over the lake
where they intend to alight, they descend very suddenly in an oblique
direction." The cries of this Diver are very peculiar during the breeding
season, and may be heard at a great distance. The voice is said to be very
melancholy, and to resemble the cry of a human being in distress.
THE RED-THROATED DIVER.
The RED-THROATED DIVER (_Colymbus septentrionalis_), as the smallest of
these three species is called, is only from twenty-five to twenty-six
inches long, and from forty to forty-three broad; the wing measures from
ten inches and a half to twelve and a half; and the tail two and a half
to three and a half inches. The colour of this bird is ash-grey upon the
head and on the sides of the neck; the back of the neck is striped with
white; the front of the throat bright chestnut-brownish red; the back is
brownish black; the under side white; the front and sides of the breast
are black, with longitudinal rows of spots. In their winter dress the
feathers of the back are tipped with white, and the region of the throat
is white. In young birds the colours of the plumage are indistinct.
The eye is light brownish red; the beak black; the foot is dark brown,
mingled with blueish grey, the latter colour being deepest on the web
between the toes. This bird inhabits the high northern latitudes of the
eastern hemisphere, and is more especially met with upon the coasts of
Greenland, Spitzbergen, and of European and Asiatic Russia. It is likewise
common in the Faroe Islands, as well as in the Orkneys and the Hebrides.
In winter time it extends its range further south, and may be found on
the coasts of Denmark, Germany, and Holland, as well as upon the shores
of Great Britain. Its habitat may be said to stretch from 60° to 70°
north latitude. The Red-throated Diver is common on the shores of Great
Britain and Ireland in the winter season, and about the mouth of the
Thames is known by the name of the Sprat Loon, on account of its following
the shoals of sprats. It remains during winter to breed in Scotland,
frequenting the inland Highland lakes, as well as the Orkney, Hebrides,
and Shetland Islands. The neatly-made nest is placed near the margin of
the water, sometimes on the bare beach, and sometimes among herbage, and
is formed of such plants and leaves as are easily procurable. The eggs,
usually two in number, are of an elongated oval shape, brown in colour,
and dotted with dark amber-brown. The male remains near the nest, and is
said occasionally to assist in brooding. When an intruder approaches, the
female continues to sit till her foe is close at hand, when she starts
off, plunges into the water, and usually flies off or sometimes swims
anxiously about in company with her mate; if deprived of their eggs the
loud lamentations of the parents may be heard for several evenings; the
notes are harsh, and, according to Macgillivray, resemble those of the
Gannet. The young take to the water as soon as they leave the egg, and
continue with their parents until able to use their wings, when all fly
off to the sea. Mr. Low, in his "Natural History of Orkney," says, "This
bird continues with us the whole season, builds on the very edge of a lake
in the hills of Hay, and lays two eggs; its nest is placed so that it can
slip from it into the water, as it can neither stand nor move on land, but
can make very quick way at sea; flies well, and commonly very high; makes
a vast howling and sometimes croaking noise, which our country folks say
prognosticates rain, whence its name with us of the 'Rain Goose.'" Mr.
Dunn, who saw this bird in Norway, thus writes to Mr. Yarrell: "This Diver
is far more common here than the Black-throated. On the west coast of
Norway it is very abundant from the Naze to the North Cape; in the Lapland
Alps, in the Dofre Field, and in the interior of Sweden it is equally
numerous. In August, 1838, I saw, on the great Tornea Lake, thirty in a
flock, and all old birds. Although so common, it is rarely one sees the
young before they are able to fly; their habits and feeding are similar
to those of the Black-throated Diver. Their cries are very mournful and
melancholy. During the breeding season, while on the wing, they utter
frequently a sound like the word 'kakera-kakera,' by which name they are
called in many parts of Scandinavia."
* * * * *
The AUKS (_Alcidæ_) are distinguishable by their strongly-built body,
short neck, large head, short, almost rudimentary wings, short tail,
strong, compact, three-toed, broadly-webbed feet, and rich, thick, and
downy plumage, which is similarly coloured in the two sexes, but varies
considerably at different seasons.
* * * * *