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. THE GREAT NORTHERN DIVER. This great Bird has been called a wanderer on the ocean. It is not only found along the margins of the sea, fishing in the bays and at the river banks, but is also met with out on the ocean many miles from the shore. Narrow channels and sandy bays are, however, its favorite resorts; there it floats, its body deeply submerged in the water. But though swimming so deep in the water, it can overtake and shoot ahead of all the more buoyant swimmers. The Bird is sometimes known as the Loon. It is seldom found on the land, being ill fitted for walking or flying, and although it is expert in swimming long distances under water, and when it does come up seldom exposes more than its neck, it flies rather better than many other short-winged divers. It flies heavily, in a circle, round those who have disturbed it in its haunts, its loud and melancholy cry resembling the howling of a wolf, or the distant scream of a man in distress. When the “Loon” calls frequently, it is supposed to portend a storm. In the bad weather which precedes the advent of winter on the northern American lakes, previous to migration, the wild weird note of the Loon is so unnatural that the Indians ascribe to it supernatural powers. THE PENGUINS. [Illustration: PENGUIN.] The Penguins belong exclusively to cold countries. They live almost entirely in the water, and although they seldom come ashore, except to build their nests and lay their eggs, or when driven by squalls or storms from their favorite element, they do not often swim far from the land. On the shore they are compelled to sit erect, as their feet are placed at the extremity of the body—an arrangement which renders them awkward and heavy when they try to sit or walk. They carry the head very high and the neck stretched out, while their short winglets are held out like two short arms. When they sit perched in flocks on some lofty projecting rock they might be mistaken at a distance for a line of soldiers. At certain periods of the year the Penguins assemble on the beach as if they had planned to meet for deliberation. These assemblies last for a day or two, and are conducted with an obvious degree of solemnity. When the meeting results in a decision, they proceed to work with great activity.