248 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF 



their food, which, as far as I could ascertain, consisted chiefly of small fish, 

 they hover lightly and slowly over the water at a height of a few feet. When 

 a fish is espied, they nearly or quite close the wings and dart down with great 

 rapidity, and usually go quite under water. With a slight shiver the beautiful 

 birds shake the water off their plumage, swallow the fish as they reascend, and 

 again hover eagerly watching for more. They were not at all shy. They are 

 known to the natives by quite a variety of names. I have heard them called 

 " Rapes," " Steerines," " Pathricks," and " Mackerel Gulls," the last being the 

 name by which they and other Terns are known to the fishermen, given in re- 

 ference to their forked tail. 



Colymbus tobquatus Briinn. Great Northern Diver. "Loon," "Loo." 



Colymbus glacialis, Aud., Birds Amer. Tii. 282 ; pi. 476. 

 Colymbus torguatus, Lawrence, Gen. Rep. 888. 



This large, powerful and hardy bird is abundant throughout Labrador. It 

 frequents chiefly the numerous ponds formed by the depressions of the rugged 

 surface of the country, near the borders of which the nest is usually placed. 

 Though numbers were seen, yet so shy, wary and vigilant is it, and so expert in 

 eluding pursuit on the water by its extraordinary powers of diving, that not a 

 single one was obtained by any of the party. The most successful method of 

 procuring it is to he perfectly concealed near the edge of the pond where it may 

 be swimming, and to decoy it within shot by imitating its notes. The imita- 

 tion, however, must be skilfully executed, or the wary bird will perceive the 

 deception. The notes of the Loon, of all the birds with which I am acquainted, 

 are the most wild, free and iudependent, seemingly uttered in full knowledge 

 of the security which its wariness and vigor afford. It is from its cry that it 

 derives its name of "Loon," or " Loo," as it is perhaps oftener pronounced by 

 the natives. On the first of August, I came upon a pair of these birds on an 

 inland pond, about three long gunshots wide ; they had with them two young 

 birds, apparently but a few days old. Perfectly aware of the safety of iheir 

 position, they remained close together exactly in the centre of the pond, keep- 

 ing the young between them, and at intervals sending forth their loud defiant 

 screams. On being fired at, they simply ducked for a moment beneath the 

 surface, and immediately rose again, aud I was obliged to leave them to their 

 occupations. 



? Colymbus septentrionalis Linn. Red-throated Diver. 



Colymbus seplenlrionalis, Aud., Birds Amer. vii. 299 ; pi. 478. Lawrence, Gen. 

 Rep. 890. 



I obtained two eggs, supposed to be of this species, at Sloop Harbor, on the 

 4th of July ; they were at that date quite fresh. The parent was seen but at a 

 distance too great for positive identification. The nest was placed on the edge 

 of a small pool of water, on a small barren island, and was very rudely con- 

 structed of dried rushes matted loosely together, on which the eggs were depo- 

 sited without the slightest attempt at concealment. They measured two inches 

 and nine-sixteenths in length, by one and eleven-sixteenths in breadth, and 

 were of a uniform dark olive brown, with rather small spots of a very dark 

 brownish black, and a few others of a lighter tint. They were much shorter 

 and more rounded than undoubted eggs of C. seplenlrionalis, their form being 

 regularly ovate, while that of the latter is nearly elliptical. The color was 

 lighter. Very possibly they belonged to C. Arcticus. 



Alca impennis Linnaeus. Great Auk. " Penguin." 

 Alca impennis, Aud., Birds Amer. vii. ; pi. 465. Cassin, Gen. Rep. 900. 



Concerning this most extraordinary bird, remarkable in consequence of its 

 not possessing the power of flight, and as being the sole representative in the 



[Aug. 



