THE FAMILY OF DIVERS.
The most important birds found in this family are the Great Northern Diver, the Arctic Diver, Penguins, Auks, Grebes, and Guillemots.
All these Birds are distinguished by wings so thin and short as to be almost useless for flying. They are all habitual divers and tireless swimmers, using their wings as Fish do their fins. To raise their wings after taking a down stroke requires much greater effort than a Bird of flight makes in raising its wings in the air; for this reason the muscle in the wings of the Diving Birds has an unusually large development to give them greater strength.
The Divers are inhabitants of northern seas. There they build their nests on some solitary island and lay two eggs, oblong in shape and white in color. Fish, particularly the Herring, are their principal food, and they are such active swimmers and divers that it takes a quick eye and hand to shoot them.