COLYMBID.E : LOONS. 



789 



61. Family COLYMBID^ : 



Loons. 

 Bill stout, 



straight, com- 

 tapering, acute, parag- 

 natlious, entirely horny. Nos- 

 trils naiTowly linear, their upper 

 edge lobed. Head completely 

 feathered, the antisB prominent, 

 acute, reacliing the nostrils; no 

 crests nor ruffs. Wings strong, 

 with stiff primaries and short 

 inner quills. Legs completely 

 posterior, buried, feathered on to 

 the heel-j(»iut ; tarsi entirely re- 

 ticulate, extremely compressed, 

 the back edge smooth; toes 

 four, the anterior i)alinate, the 

 posterior semOateral and having 

 a lobe connecting it with the 

 base of the inner. Tail short, 

 but well formed, of many feath- 

 ers. Carotids double. Tibia 

 with long apophysis. Sternum 

 with long, broad, central projec- 

 tion backward, and shorter lat- 

 FiG. 529. - Loons. (From Michelet.) gj-.^| processes. Cceca present. 



Accessory semiteudinosus absent. Back spotted. Head of young not striped. Loons are 

 large heavy birds with broad flattened body and rather long sinuous neck, abundant on the 

 coasts and large inland waters of the Northern Hemisphere. They are noted for their powers 

 of diving, being able to evade the shot from a gun by disappearing at the flash, and to swim 

 many fathoms under water. They are migratory, breeding in high latitudes, being generally 

 dispersed further south in winter. They are prsecocial, and lay two or three dark-colored 

 spotted eggs in a rude nest of rushes by the water's edge. The voice is extremely loud, harsh, 

 and resonant. The sexes are alike, the 9 smaller than the ^ ; the young different. There 

 is but one genus, with only three well-determined species. 

 333. C0LY:>I'BUS. (Gr. KoXvfi^os, l-oiumbos, a diver.) Loons. Character as above. 



Analysis of Species and Varieties (Adults). 



Head and neck black, with green, blue, and purple reflection, and patches of white streaks. 



Bill mostly or wholly black, the culmen, commissure, and gonys all gently curved ; feathers falling 



short of middle of nostrils ; culmen 3.00 or less ; gape 4.00 or more ; height of bill at nostrils usually 



under 1.00. Gloss of head and neck mostly green ; white spots of back nearly square . . torquatns 840 



Bill mostly yellow ; culmen nearly straight ; commissure straight; gonys straight ; feathers reaching 



middle of nostrils ; culmen about 3.75; gape about 5.00; height of bill at nostrils usually over 1.00. 



Gloss of head and neck mostly blue; white spots of back longer than broad adamsi 841 



Top of head bluish-ash, front of neck blue-black; neck with white stripes. 



Larger: wing about 12.00; bill about 2.50, stout, with convex culmen arcticus 842 



Smaller: wing about 11.00; bill about 2.00, slender, with straight culmen pnciiicns 843 



Throat and sides of head bluish-a.sh; front of neck with reil patch septentrional is 844 



840. C. torqua'tus. (Lat. torquatns, collared. Figs. 529, .530.) Common Loon. Great North- 

 p:rn Diver. Adult : Bill black, the tip and cutting edges sometimes yellowish. Feet black. 

 Iris red. Head and neck deep glossy greenish-black, with lustrous purplish reflections on the 



