512 WEB-FOOTED BIRDS. 



small and acuminate. Wings moderate ; 1st and 2d primaries long- 

 est. Tail very short and rounded, composed of 18 to 20 feathers. 



The sexes alike in plumage. The young differing from the adult 

 until the 3d or 4th year. They moult twice in the year without 

 changing the colors of their plumage. The feathers thick ; their 

 colors above bright and glossy, beneath white. 



Although the greater number of web-footed birds submerge, the 

 Divers, and the succeeding genera of this great order, resort to the 

 water as their habitual residence. They live continually upon this 

 element, where they commonly escape our sight, because they often 

 only elevate the head out of water an instant to respire and immedi- 

 ately after submerge. The birds of the present genus commonly dive 

 to the bottom of the deepest rivers or bays, accompanying their pro- 

 gress with a bubbling of the air, and move their wings beneath the 

 water as though exercising them in the air, they strike out with 

 their feet at the same time in a diagonal direction, and dive instan- 

 taneously at the flash of a gun. Their migrations are often per- 

 formed by water, preferring this method in the autumn to that of 

 using their wings, though they fly in breeding time at a considerable 

 elevation and with rapidity. They can scarcely be said to walk, 

 their posture on their legs is vertical, but unable to maintain for an 

 instant this exact balance, they fall over on the belly and supinely 

 and slowly drag themselves over the surface of the ground by succes- 

 sive and painful jerks, using their wings often as a kind of oars to 

 assist their inefficient progress, and hence their common name of 

 Loon.* In winter they generally live out at sea in bays and inlets, 

 usually accompanied by their young who thus associate in families. 

 In the spring they separate in pairs, and seek out the borders of 

 lakes and fresh water islets in which to breed in the greatest seclu- 

 sion ; the nest is made of coarse aquatic weeds, and the eggs are 

 usually from 2 to 4. The young follow the mother, plunging into 

 the water when the nest is invaded. The voice is shrill, mournful, 

 and monotonous. They feed principally on fish, which they take 

 under water, and devour on the surface ; they also prey on aquatic 

 animals, insects, and sometimes on vegetables or their roots. 



They inhabit the northern hemisphere, retiring into the interior as 

 well as the high boreal latitudes to breed. The species are about 

 five. 



* Or Loom, which in the language of the Laplanders signifies lame, as they can- 

 not walk well. 



