450 THE DIVING BIRDS — PYGOPODES. 



When kept iu confinement, and crippled in wing, it will wander to quite a distance 

 from its pond by night, and seek to escape or hide itself. If, when wounded, it falls 

 upon the land, it will, if pursued, attempt to escape in a very rapid, though a very 

 clumsy, manner. 



In the spring the Loon may be attracted to the shore by the waving of a bright- 

 colored liandkerchief, as I have several times witnessed. On such occasions the bird 

 seems to lay aside all its caution, and swims up to almost sure death. One person 

 waves the attractive lure, while another keeps a steady aim, and fires when the bird 

 is in short range and can make no successful effort to dive. In one instance my 

 companion in the boat, Mr. Jonathan Johnson, of ISTahant, shot a very old bird that 

 behaved in a manner at first unaccountable. Its attention was fixed upon another 

 boat, from which it moved away and directly toward us, apparently taking no notice 

 of us, and not diving at the flash of Mr. Johnson's gun. We found that it had been 

 blinded of one eye — which explained its not seeing us, especially when its attention 

 was fixed elsewhere. It had evidently long before received a ghastly wound on the 

 side and top of the head, that, strangely enough, had not proved mortal ; this had 

 partially healed over; though a portion of the skull had been shot away, and one eye 

 was shrunken and useless. That it could have survived such a wound, and lived, as 

 it evidently had, for months — if not years — after the injury was inflicted, showed 

 the wonderful tenacity of life of this bird. 



On another occasion a number of Loons became hemmed in by drift-ice in a small 

 opening in Lynn Harbor. The space was too limited to permit them to escape by 

 flying, and they did not succeed by diving in passing out into the open sea, although 

 the distance was not more than a quarter of a mile. They seemed to have lost all 

 presence of mind, and to be panic-stricken ; and allowed themselves to be shot one 

 after the otht-r, though escape by diving was evidently within their reach. 



j\Ir. JMacFarlane found this species breeding in considerable numbers in the vicin- 

 ity of Fort Anderson. A nest, found in June on the edge of a pond of water, was 

 a tolerably large mass of turf, and was partially screened from observation by grass 

 and reeds growing in its vicinity. Another nest, found in July, was composed of 

 a large mass of decayed vegetable matter, situated on the edge of a small lake. 

 There was a depression made by the female in the centre of this mass, on which the 

 eggs lay. In no instance were more than two eggs found in a nest. 



The specimens of the eggs of this species in the collection of the Smithsonian 

 Institution are from jMaine, ISTova Scotia, Alexandria Bay, IST. Y., and from Minnesota. 

 The ground-color of this egg varies from a deep raw-umber to an olivaceous-drab. 

 The markings are small in size, sparsely distributed, and brownish black. Three 

 typical specimens measure 3.30 by 2.25 inches ; 3.50 by 2.15 ; and 3.oo by 2.40. 



Urinator Adamsii. 



THE WHITE-BILLED LOON. 



Colymhus Adamsii, Gray, P. Z. S. 1859, 167. — Coues, Vy. Ac. Nat. Sci . Philad. 1862, 227. — Kidgw. 



Norn. N. Am. B. 1881, no. 737. 

 Colymbua torquatas, var. Adamsii, Coues, Key, 1872, 334 ; Check List, 1873, no. 605 a. 

 Colymbus torquatus, b. Adamsii, Coues, Birds N. W. 187-i, 720. 

 Colymhus torquat lis Adamsi, CouES, 2d Cliedc List, 1882, no. 841. 

 Urinator Adamsii, Stejn. Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. Vol. 5, 1882, 43. 



Hab. Arctic America, west of Hudson's Biiy ; casual in Northern Europe and Asia (?)• 



Sp. Char. Similar to U. immer, but much larger, the hill very dillerent in shape and color, 



