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 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