The Black Throated Divers construct their nests farther inland than the Loon or Red Throated Diver and some builds their nest on small islands. When swimming the bird rides low in the water like a cormorant.
During the nesting season the black-throated diver displays a smooth satiny gray head and delicate neck. Its neck and throat are colored ebony, its neck striped black and white and its back shows a checker board appearance of black and white.
After mating the female usually lays two or three eggs in a nest, built close to the seashore in the months of May or June so the clumsy land birds, can move on and off the nest as easy as possible. The outer shell of the egg is thick with a rough covering and colored brown with a tint of olive, having spots of dark umber and black. Both the male and the female sit on the eggs until they hatch in about four weeks.
The Black Throated Divers in Scandinavia move in September through October to the Mediterranean and the Black Sea areas. These birds escape the exposure to a headlong tempest or gale by seeking cover and safety by hiding on the lee side of large rocks, islands, or artificial banks. At other times when caught in a storm they will dive into the sea and surface in the smooth parts that seamen call troughs.
The Black Throated Diver is decreasing in population because of disturbances by man, plundering by other animals, over fishing, acid rains and oil pollution at sea.
INTERESTING FACTS- One of the outstanding facts about this attractive bird is the distance traveled by the young Black Throated Divers in the fall and winter months.
According to old stories, "the devil himself created the black throated diver. They said that the devil had forgotten to give the bird its feet, and in his anger he threw the legs after the bird. "
