12 



BIRDS OF AMERICA 



into the temperate regions, especially along the seacoasts. The nests are rude structures, 

 composed of moss and grass sometimes plastered with a little mud, and are built on the 

 ground usually along the shore of a lake and frequently on top of the abandoned lodge of a 

 muskrat. The birds seem to make no attempt to hide their nests, but the two eggs, by reason 

 of their olive or brownish shades, which are broken by blackish or brownish spots, are 

 decidedly inconspicuous. 



The cry of the Loon has been variously described as mournful, mirthful, sinister, defiant, 

 uncanny, demoniacal, and so on. At any rate, it is undeniably distinctive and character- 

 istic, and is almost certain to challenge the dullest ear and the most inert imagination, while 

 in those who know instinctively the voices of Nature, especially when she is frankly and 

 unrestrainedly natural, it produces a thrill and elicits a response which only the elect 

 understand. 



LOON 

 Gavia immer { Brihinich) 



A. O. U. Number 7 See Color I'late j 



Other Names. — Common Loon ; Big Loon ; Great 

 Northern Diver ; Imber Diver ; Hell-diver ; Ember- 

 Goose ; Walloon ; Ring-necked Loon ; Black-billed Loon ; 

 Guinea Duck ; Greenhead. 



General Description. — Length, 28 to 36 inches. In 

 Summer: Upper parts, glossy black with white spots; 

 under parts, white. In Winter; Upper parts, grayish- 

 brown without spots. 



Color. — Adults in Summer: Head and neck all 

 around, glossy purplish-black with greenish reflections ; 

 a patch of sharp white streaks on lower throat ; another 

 of the same kind on each side of neck, separated in 

 front, but sometimes meeting behind ; cjitirc upper parts, 

 wiiic/'covcrts, and inner secondaries, glossy black, 

 thickly marked luith ivhitc spots — those of shoulders, 

 inner secondaries, and back, large, square, and regu- 

 larly arranged traversely, those of other parts oval, 

 smallest on rump and wing-coverts ; upper tail-coverts, 

 greenish-black; primaries, dusky; lower parts from 

 neck, li'hite: sides of breast, streaked with black; bill 

 and feet, black; iris, red. .\dults in Winter. .\nd 



Young: Crown, neck and upper parts, in general, gray- 

 ish-brown, the feathers of hack with lighter edges; 

 primaries, black; tail, gray-tipped; sides of breast, 

 mottled; chin, throat, and neck in front (narrowly), 

 and under parts, white with some dark feathers on sides 

 and under tail-coverts, thus no black or white spots; 

 bill, dusky, bluish-white at base and below ; feet, lighter 

 than in summer ; iris, brown. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest: Usually 

 sand, without nesting material; in 

 rough nest is constructed of sticks and reeds; occa- 

 sionally the top of an old muskrat house is utilized. 

 Eggs : 2, dark olive-gray, stained 

 spotted with black. 



Distribution. — -Northern part of 

 sphere; in North .*\merica breeds from Alaska across 

 Arctic North America to Greenland, south to northern 

 California, across the United States at about the paral- 

 lel 42° to Nova Scotia; winters from southern British 

 Columbia, the Great Lakes, and southern New England 

 to Lower California, the Gulf coast, and Florida. 



a hollow in the 

 some localities a 



with brown and 



northern hemi- 



Of all the wild creatures which still persist 

 in the land, despite settlement and civilization, the 

 Loon seems best to typify the untamed savagery 

 of the wilderness. Its wolf-like cry is the wildest 

 sound now heard in Massachusetts, where na- 

 ture has long been subdued by the rifle, ax, and 

 plow. Sometimes at sea, when I have heard the 

 call of the Loon from afar, and seen its white 

 breast flash from the crest of a distant wave, 1 

 have imagined it the signal and call for help of 

 some strong swimmer, battling with the waves. 



It is generally believed that in migration at 

 least the Loon passes the night ttpon the sea or 

 the bosom of some lake or river. The Gulls, 



Auks, Puffins, and Cormorants, which live upon 

 the sea, usually alight upon the high shores of 

 some rocky island or on some lonely sand bar 

 at night, btit the Loon is often seen at sea when 

 night falls, and its cries are heard by the sailors 

 during the hotirs of darkness. Notwithstanding 

 the general belief that it normally sleeps on the 

 water, I believe that it jirefers to rest on shore 

 at night, when it can safely do so. Audubon 

 satisfied himself that on its breeding grotinds it 

 was accustomed to spend the night on shore. On 

 an island oif the coast of British Columbia, 

 where there was no one to trouble the birds, I 

 once saw, just at nightfall, a pair of Loons 



