Page 58 - Complete Birds of Britain and Europe (DK - RSPB)

DIVERS AND GREBES
Order Gaviiformes Family Gaviidae Species Gavia stellata
Red-throated Diver upturned
grey bill

hump-backed
striped grey nape
all-brown back tapering,
dark red
throat patch

ADULT (WINTER)

white
ADULT (SUMMER) face
white-speckled
pale dusky back
face
outstretched
head

ADULT (SUMMER)
IN FLIGHT JUVENILE ADULT (WINTER)
low-profile, swimming bird, rarely found on land except
A at the nest, this diver is distinguished by its slim, tapered FLIGHT: low and straight over sea, head
bill held angled upwards. Red-throated Divers nest on small outstretched, legs slightly drooped; steady, strong
freshwater pools but fly off to feed at the coast.They are typically wingbeats.
found flying high overhead to and from the sea
in summer, calling loudly. In winter, they are
mostly marine birds. Brown-backed and grey-
headed with a dark red throat patch in summer,
the plumage of the Red-throated Diver is less
distinctive in winter.
VOICE Loud, high wail and fast, staccato
quacking (in flight) in summer; quiet in winter.
NESTING Scrape almost on shoreline, in
danger of flooding; 2 eggs; 1 brood;April–July.
FEEDING Dives for fish and other aquatic CALL POSTURE
creatures; underwater for long periods, Red-throated Divers, like other divers, use several strange, ritualized postures
reappears at some distance from point of dive. while calling on breeding pools in summer.
SIMILAR SPECIES OCCURRENCE
Breeds on small, remote moorland
dark eye-line
straight bill pools and lakes in north, but feeds
on sea in N Scotland, Iceland, and
darker
Scandinavia. In winter, more
widespread around W European
shores on open coasts and
white estuaries, but very rare inland.
GUILLEMOT winter, wingbar
similar to adult winter; BLACK-THROATED DIVER winter, Seen in the UK
see p.229 similar to adult winter; see p.57 J F M A M JJ A S O N D
Length 50–60cm (20–23 1 ⁄2 in) Wingspan 1.06–1.16m (3 1 ⁄2 –3 3 ⁄4ft) Weight 1.2–1.6kg (2 3 ⁄4 –3 1 ⁄2lb)
Social Winter flocks Lifespan Up to 20 years Status Vulnerable
56