LOON. 



GREAT NORTHERN DIVER. 

 Urinator IMBER. 



z.'har. Mantle black, spotted with white; head and neck black, with 

 green and purple reflections; throat with two bands of white stripes; 

 •jnder parts white. Length very variable, ranging from 28 to 33 inches, 

 though specimens measuring about the extremes of this variation are 

 more common than those of intermediate length. 



Nest. Amid rank herbage near the water, on the margin of a lake or 

 river, often on an island, sometimes on the sea-shore. 



Eggs. 2-3 (usually 2) ; olive brown with a few darker spots; average 

 size about 3.50 X 2.25. 



The Loon, the most common of its tribe in the United 

 States, is a general inhabitant of cold and temperate climates 

 throughout the whole northern hemisphere. It is found in 

 the north of Europe, and spreads along the Arctic coasts as 

 far as Kamtschatka, Nootka Sound, and the mouth of the Ob. 

 It dwells on the dreary coast of Spitzbergen, Greenland, Ice- 

 land, and Hudson Bay. These birds abound in all the lakes of 

 the fur countries, where, as well as in the interior of the most 



