Michael Hinman chose…

Red Throated Diver

I chose these divers because we had not had any specimens of the taxidermist's skill on display so far during this series and because one of them was acquired by the museum in 1976, which was the year that I began to catalogue Coventry's old documents.

Michael Hinman is an archivist in the History Centre at the Herbert

What the curator says:

Red Throated Diver (Gavia stellata) collected in 1976
Adult male in winter plumage

This specimen is an adult male in its winter plumage. In summer the bird's distinctive red throat is easily recognised, but this disappears in its winter plumage. It is Britain's smallest diver and can stay underwater for up to 90 seconds. The red throated diver mainly eats fish and small amphibians. It is a protected species and can be seen off the UK coast from north west Wales to Orkney. It is mainly a summer visitor to the UK and leaves in September for the Arctic.