BLACK-THROATED LOON. 391 



The aborigines, nearly as superstitious as sailors, dislike to 

 hear the cry of the Loon, considering the bird, from its shy 

 and extraordinary habits, as a sort of supernatural being. By 

 the Norwegians its long-drawn howl is, with more appearance 

 of reason, supposed to portend rain. Judging, however, from 

 the young bird already mentioned, this expression, like that 

 of other fowls, indicated nothing beyond the humble wants or 

 social communication of the species. 



The flesh of the Loon is dark, tough, and unpalatable ; yet 

 the young birds are frequently seen in the markets of New 

 York and Boston, and are therefore no doubt sometimes eaten. 

 Some of the Russian Tartars on the Ob and the Irtisch tan 

 the breasts of this and other water- fowl, preserving the down 

 upon them, and sewing them together, sell them for garments 

 and caps. The Greenlanders, as well as the aborigines round 

 Hudson Bay and on the banks of the Columbia River, em- 

 ploy their skins as articles of dress or of decoration ; and the 

 Indians of the Missouri and Mississippi also often ornament 

 the sacred calumet with the brilliant neck-feathers of this and 

 other species. 



The Loon is found throughout this Eastern Province, breeding 

 from the northern tier of States to the Arctic Ocean. It winters 

 from the Middle States south to the Gulf of Mexico. 



BLACK-THROATED LOON. 



Urinator arcticus. 



Char. Prevailing color above black, varied with white ; head grayish 

 brown; chin and throat black, with a patch of short white streaks; 

 streaks of white on side of neck; under parts white. Length about 26 

 inches. 



Nest. On the bank of an island lake, — a hollow stamped in the moss, 

 sparingly lined with grass, or sometimes a floating mass of coarse herb- 

 age covered with moss and sedge. 



Eggs. Usually 2 ; brown of an olive or russet tint, and marked with 

 dark brown; average size 3.25 X 2.10. 



This species, common to the hyperboreal parts of both 

 continents, is much more rare in the United States than the 



