FAM. LXni. LOONS 



343 



sides of the neck and breast, streaked with white, and on the 

 sides of the body and under the tail spotted with white. Adult 

 in winter and young, a loon with all upper parts blackish, the 

 feathers edged with grayish, but with no white spots ; all 

 under parts white, with some grayish on the throat. Birds 

 in the United States can be found with all grades of white 

 spotting on the back. This 

 is the only species of loon 

 breeding in the states and 

 thus the only one to be 

 found at all seasons. 



Length, 28-3G ; wing, 1.3-15| ; tarsus, 3-3 J ; culnien, 

 2|-3^. Northern hemisphere ; breeding from the nortli- 

 ern range of states northward, and wintering south to 

 the Gulf of Mexico and Lower California. 



2. Black-throated Loon (9. Urinator drcticus). 

 — A bird similar to the last, but ranging much 

 farther north. Adult in winter and young, 

 having upper parts, including wings and tail 

 with the feathers, blackish at their centers 

 and grayish along their borders ; no white 

 spots on the back. This is practically the winter appearance 

 of the last, so the difference in size must be noted to determine 

 the species. The absence of white spots separates it from 

 the next. In summer the adult can be separated from the last 

 by the ashy head, and from the next by the black throat and 



absence of chestnut color. 



Length, 26-29; wing, 12-13^; tarsus, 

 2| ; culmen, 2i-2|. Northern hemi- 

 sphere ; breeding north of the United 

 States, and south in winter, casually to 

 the northern states east of the Rocky Mountains. 



3. Red-throated Loon (11. Urinator liimrne). — 

 This is the smallest of our loons. It is found in 

 the Northern States from October to May, and 

 irregularly south, in winter, to South Carolina. 



Black-throated Loon 



