DIVER, or LooN, Cotym,bus, a genus of birds of the family colynthidm (q.v.), having a strong, straight, rather compressed pointed bill, about as long as the head; a short and rounded tail; short wines, thin compressed legs placed very far back, and the toes com pletely webbed. They by well, but are particularly expert in diving. They prey upon fish, which they pursue under water, making as much use of their wings as of their legs and webbed feet in their subaqueous progression. They are scarcely capable, however, of walking on land, and the name loon is supposed to refer to this incapacity, and to be from the same root with lame. The GREAT NORTHERN D., or LooN, also called the TIMER or EMBER GOOSE (C. glacialis), is a bird about 21 ft. long, exhibiting no little beauty of plumage; the upper parts black, spotted with white; the head black, with tints of green and blue; the belly white. It is a winter visitant of the British coasts, even to the furthest s., and is occasionally seen in inland districts; is found in like manner in most parts of Europe, the n. of Asia, and North America, as far s. as Texas, but it breeds chiefly in the more northern regions, as Labrador, Iceland, and Spitzbergen. It is not exclusively marine, being often seen on large rivers, and making
its nest on the shores of fresh-water lakes. Its cry is very peculiar and wild, has been likened to the howl of a wolf, and is in some countries superstitiously regarded as ominous of evil. It is easily tamed, and becomes very familiar. The BLACK-THROATED D. (C. Arcticus) is another northern bird, of similarly wide geographic distribution, but much smaller size, being only about 26 in. in length. It is found at intervals distributed round the coasts of Britain, and it occasionally breeds in the fresh-water lochs of the n. of Scotland. The RED-THROATED D. (C. septentrionalis) is also found in all the north ern parts of the world, is more common in Britain than either of the other species, and is the bird generally called loon on the British coasts. In size it scarcely equals the black-throated diver. Its back is brownish-black, the belly white, the throat red. The flesh of all the divers is dark, tough, and unpalatable.—The name D. is sometimes extended to all the colynthidm (q.v.), sometimes to all the brachypterm (q.v.).